Taglines: It’s happening so fast.
Thirteen movie storyline. At the edge of adolescence, Tracy is a smart straight-A student–if not a little naive (it seems…she smokes and she cuts to alleviate the emotional pain she suffers from having a broken home and hating her mom’s boyfriend, Brady.) When she befriends Evie, the most popular and beautiful girl in school, Evie leads Tracy down a path of sex, drugs and petty crime (like stealing money from purses and from stores). As Tracy transforms herself and her identity, her world becomes a boiling, emotional cauldron fueled by new tensions between her and her mother–as well as, teachers and old friends.
Thirteen is Catherine Hardwicke’s explosive portrait of teenage girls at their very worst. Mean, manipulative, conniving, and utterly out of control, these skinny, sexy, drug-addicted, 13-year-old time bombs are nothing short of terrifying. Hardwicke’s movie is brilliant in its ability to portray this phenomenon, which comes off as very real. The skillful photography from cinematographer Elliot Davis communicates the most complicated themes of the film: insecurity, confusion, wanting to be liked and accepted, and feeling like it’s time to grow up fast.
The film caused controversy upon its release, because it dealt with topics like drugs such as inhalants, marijuana, and alcohol, underage sexual behavior, and self-harm in an exploitative manner. The film earned Holly Hunter an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Golden Globe nominations for Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress in a Drama, respectively.
About the Story
13-year-old Tracy Freeland begins her school year as a smart and sweet honor student at a middle school in Los Angeles. Her divorced mother Melanie is a recovering alcoholic, who struggles to support Tracy and her older brother Mason by working as a hairdresser. Tracy feels ignored by her mother, who is too busy with her fellow ex-addict boyfriend Brady to address Tracy’s increasing depression. After being teased for her “Cabbage Patch” clothes, Tracy decides to shed her “little girl” image and gets her mother to purchase trendier clothes.
When Tracy wears one of her new outfits to school, she is complimented by Evie Zamora, one of the most popular girls at school. Evie invites Tracy to go shopping on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood but gives her a fake phone number as a prank. Nevertheless, Tracy determinedly shows up on Melrose Avenue and meets up with Evie and her friend Astrid. Tracy is uncomfortable with the two shoplifting and excuses herself to sit outside the store on a bench.
When a distracted rich woman sits next to Tracy, Tracy takes the chance to steal the woman’s wallet, which impresses Evie and Astrid. The three go on a shopping spree with the stolen money and Tracy and Evie become fast friends. Evie introduces Tracy to her world of sex, drugs, and criminal activity, much to Tracy’s delight. When Evie tells Melanie that her legal guardian / cousin Brooke sent her an email, about going to a convention in Bakersfield for two weeks, she temporarily moves into the Freeland household and discovers that Tracy regularly cuts herself to cope with stress.
The two promise to stay friends forever and continue with their self-destructive exploits. Although Melanie is concerned about the change in Tracy’s behavior and worries about the extent of Evie’s influence, she cannot find a way to intervene. Melanie attempts to send Evie home but Evie claims her guardian’s boyfriend is physically abusive. A torn Melanie reluctantly agrees to let her stay. As Tracy and Evie become closer, Tracy shuts Melanie further out of her life.
Evie and Tracy get increasingly out of control, each egging the other on. The pair attempt to seduce Tracy’s neighbor Luke, a lifeguard in his early twenties, and ditch a family movie night to get high on the streets. Mason is shocked when he bumps into Tracy wearing sexualized clothing, including thong underwear, but Tracy dismisses his concerns. Later on, the girls take turns inhaling from a can of gas duster for computers for fun and become so intoxicated that they hit each other, accidentally drawing blood.
Melanie attempts to break the girl’s friendship by sending Tracy to live with her father but he refuses. Meanwhile, Melanie goes over to Brooke’s house, with Tracy and Evie, to find out what is going on, because she’s been calling Brooke for two weeks. They find that Brooke was hiding because of bad plastic surgery she received. Evie asks Melanie to formally adopt her but Melanie refuses.
Tracy meekly supports her mother’s decision. Angry and hurt, a tearful Evie storms off. At school, Evie turns all her friends against Tracy and, depressed, Tracy slowly begins to realize the negative effects of her lifestyle when she is told she might have to repeat the seventh grade. To her surprise, Brady finds her walking home from school and takes her home where Melanie, Evie, and Brooke are sitting quietly in the living room waiting for her.
Thirteen (2003)
Directed by: Catherine Hardwicke
Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Holly Hunter, Nikki Reed, Vanessa Hudgens, Brady Corbet, Ulysses Estrada, Sarah Blakley-Cartwright, Jenicka Carey, Sarah Clarke, Jasmine Di Angelo
Screenplay by: Nikki Reed
Production Design by: Carol Strober
Cinematography by: Elliot Davis
Film Editing by: Nancy Richardson
Costume Design by: Cindy Evans
Set Decoration by: Dorit Hurst
Art Direction by: John B. Josselyn
Music by: Mark Mothersbaugh
MPAA Rating: R for drug use, self destructive violence, language, sexuality – all involving young teens.
Distributed by: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: August 20, 2003
Views: 539
