Thirteen

2003 Drama

Prolific production designer and art director Catherine Hardwicke makes her directorial debut with the coming-of-age drama Thirteen. Los Angeles teenager and overachiever Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) is an excellent student in her seventh grade class and gets along well with her mother, Melanie (Holly Hunter). She fears that she's not cool enough to be friends with Evie (Nikki Reed), the most popular girl in school. Fueled with genuine adolescent energy, Tracy follows Evie's lead into the harsh realities of sex, drugs, and hard-edged adventure. Consumed with temptations and conflicting desires, Tracy loses her good-girl identity, greatly affecting her relationship with her mom. Partly autobiographical, Thirteen was co-written by Hardwicke and actual 13-year-old Reed, who are close family friends. Originally intending to write a teen comedy, they ended up creating a hard-hitting drama exposing the contemporary teenage experience. Thirteen was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, with Catherine Hardwicke taking home the Director's Award. more..

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Holly Hunter, Nikki Reed, Jeremy Sisto, Brady Corbet

 30 Reviews  26 Awards

Reviews

  • With an authenticity that is tender and merciless, the movie shows you what it looks like when youth rebellion becomes a form of fascism.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    11 May 2013

  • The most powerful of all recent wayward-youth sagas; indeed, it's tough to recall the last such drama that packed as much emotional clout.

    Mike Clark - USA Today

    11 May 2013

  • Who is this movie for? Not for most 13-year-olds, that's for sure. The R rating is richly deserved, no matter how much of a lark the poster promises. Maybe the film is simply for those who admire fine, focused acting and writing.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    11 May 2013

  • Brace yourself for Thirteen -- it'll cause a commotion.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    11 May 2013

  • Wood is superb at delineating Tracy's slide into desperate incoherence, but equally impressive is Reed, who has to conceal her writer's intelligence in playing a character who's entirely instinctive and unreflective.

    Mick LaSalle - The San Francisco Chronicle

    11 May 2013

Awards

  • Best Actress in a Supporting Role

    Academy Awards (2004)

     

  • Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

    BAFTA Awards (2004)

     

  • Evan Rachel Wood

    Bratislava International Film Festival (2003)

  • Best Supporting Actress

    Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2004)

     

  • Best Supporting Actress

    Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (2004)

     

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