Thirteen

I don't want to miss the point of this film. I know the point of it is the pressures on today's adolescents, and their reactions to some of those pressures, and the effects on families in those circumstances. And if you're going to illustrate those points then you have to show cause and effect, and that means unpleasantness, and shouting matches, and drugs, and manipulation, and under-age sex and so on. You have to have those things in the movie, I get it.

But for the film to have the impact it should have, you need to care about those people. You have to see the possibility of redemption in them (even if the film is a tragedy, whereby they fail to be redeemed, the possibility must be there). And we never really saw enough of Tracy before peer pressure kicked in and changed her to an obnoxious brat going off the rails to have any sort of opinion as to whether she was redeemable or not.

I thought the performances were good (if a little one-note in places), but the script was underdeveloped. Nikki Reed shows some promise as both (co-)writer and performer, but needs rather more guidance than she got here in both areas.

This movie really made me realize how difficult parenting can be, and how horrible a life can be for teenagers.

This movie really portrays the Problems present today in teenagers that we ignore. The movie is very well directed and will really make you feel it's passion and realistic Drama.

I have loved this movie since it came out in 2003. It is well written, well, acted, and is realistic about subjects most people ignore.

Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) is an average, well-behaved 13 year old entering middle school. While she struggles at home with her recovering alcoholic mother Mel (Holly Hunter), Tracy's main concern is to be liked by the popular girls. Evie Zamora (Nikki Reed) is the queen bee, and after she teases Tracy about her clothes, Tracy steals a wallet to impress her and they quickly become best friends. Evie is a deeply troubled girl who lies, steals, wears provocative clothing, has promiscuous sex, does drugs, and is abused and neglected by her guardians. As Tracy becomes more and more like Evie, engaging in similar bad behavior, her permissive mother totally loses control over her. Tracy is further agitated by her deadbeat dad and Mel's recovering addict boyfriend. Evie and Tracy are inseparable in their dysfunction, and when Evie is away Tracy often cuts herself. Tracy continues to spiral out of control with Mel watching helplessly, and Evie holding her hand through the entire thing.

This movie is good, but sometimes hard to watch. I find it very different from other movies because there are no character you ALWAYS sympathize with. You sometimes feel bad for and sometimes can't stand all of the three main characters. They are well-rounded and realistic. It saddens me that people often misinterpret the actions of the girls, who clearly have some traumatic pasts and inadequate parenting, as just "sluts" or that they "just need an ass whooping." It's very clear to see the pain, childishness, and desperate need for guidance in these kids if you pay attention. A must watch for anyone that lives or works with teenagers.

Tracy is a normal thirteen-year-old girl, dressed in bright pastels, bedroom full of soft toys and with giggly thoughts of boys. Starting school in the new term she finds everyone in awe of Evie Zamora and her friends – all of who have suddenly turned into sexy young ladies over the summer. With her goofy kid look, Evie blanks Tracy until she impresses her by stealing a purse to go shopping. As Evie gets in with Tracy's mum Mel, she also takes Evie into her own world of rebellion involving stealing, drink, disobedience, drugs and sex. Mel struggles to hold on to the small parts of her daughter that she still recognises.

At many points in our lives we all change and perhaps the first time it happens is the hardest to deal with. The stage where everyone seems to go from just being kids to suddenly being a peer group is a major one and this film, for all its extremes, does justice to the difficulties (for everyone) of the period in a story that is well written, cleverly directed and really well acted by the whole cast. The plot builds well on minor changes to Tracy and makes it totally clear where the pressure is coming from and how it affects her; in this regard the script is spot on and is totally convincing. When it goes to extremes it does show signs of stretching and almost breaking but it never does – while it is extreme it is still convincing and only two or three moments seem like they are going too far. Certainly I can't imagine many parents will be able to watch it without worrying about how they and theirs will handle the change when it comes.

While the writing is great, there does come a point where it needs to end and, while unconvincing, the film does at least draw to an end on an ambiguous ending and only the final shot of a 'isn't life hard' scream from Tracy struck a duff note and was too clumsy. As co-writer, Reed shows a real awareness of the world around her and she deserves the praise she got for that role but also her performance as Evie is praise worthy, but perhaps not to the extent that Wood's is. Wood takes us from a child to womanhood and never hits a duff note in her portrayal of a girl just trying to fit in.

She is excellent and her dynamic with Hunter is a perfect fit and also convincing; in my mind she is better than Reed because Wood had a more complex character to develop – Wood had to change her character, Reed played a character who was already there. Hunter deals with some minor clutter in her character but generally she is as good as her teenage cos-stars. Minor support roles for people like Sisto, Unger and Clarke all add to the film but really the film belongs to the lead trio. Director Hardwicke directs with style and with an eye for the clever shot – at times using fast camera motions while in one key scene just letting the camera frame the front room like it was a stage. She also uses a clever touch in tainting the film stock a washed out colour when Tracy's bubble finally bursts – we immediately go from bright colours to washed out blue and, even with the conclusion we only return to dark browns and not the highs of the main story.

Overall this is a very good film that is hard to watch if you have pre-teen kids. It has extremes in there and it won't apply to every teenager out there but to just call it unrealistic is to ignore the reality of peer pressure and the sexualisation of youth generally. The script is convincing, frightening and moving and is greatly helped by three great performances from Reed, Wood and Hunter.

I really liked the movie. It explains the whole way a teens life can take a one-eighty in a split second. It shows what us teens have to go through in life, school, friendships, relationships. It gives people a feel for our lives as teens and how some of us deal with drugs, alcohol, sex, etc. The movie really explains to people what can happen in one persons life let alone a whole group of them. It spoke to me and a few of my friends that watched it. It is a powerful movie that I will recommend for many others to watch. It deeply made me think about my friends at school and if they are going through the same situation or worse. Is there a way I can help them? The movie is excellent and I believe every teen and young adult as well as adults should watch the movie and see what their kids may/may not be going through in life.