★ 9 / 10
Jeez! <em>'Thirteen'</em> gets deep! I picked this one
r96sk
Jeez! 'Thirteen' gets deep! I picked this one out on a whim on Prime Video, having known absolutely zilch about it... even after I checked a few minor things…
Jeez! 'Thirteen' gets deep!
I picked this one out on a whim on Prime Video, having known absolutely zilch about it... even after I checked a few minor things about it (checking to see if it has a sequel or whatever, as I do for any film I watch) I was expecting a simple, cliché teen story. I did catch a glimpse of one of Prime's images for it and it looked dramatic, but I just imagined it was the character's overreaction to getting dumped or something silly like that. It wasn't!
Even so, across the opening chunk of the movie I was still anticipating the aforementioned. Yet, from just prior to the midway point really, things get deeper by the minute - not long later, I was genuinely hooked. It's a great film. I guess that's why you don't judge a book by its cover and all that, and why I don't read about flicks before watching them - I love being surprised!
The performances are truly excellent, none more so than that of Evan Rachel Wood - superb! Nikki Reed (even though I kept seeing Charisma Carpenter...) gives a strong showing too, as does Holly Hunter (even though I kept hearing Mrs. Incredible...). Wood and Hunter particularly earn their stripes across the second half. Credit to the rest of them too, including Jeremy Sisto. Feature debutant Vanessa Hudgens is squeezed in there too.
If I hadn't had noticed in my checks beforehand that this shared the same director as 'Twilight', I'm pretty sure I would've known instantly with this - a clear style, notably at the beginning, if a tad questionable in minor moments. I'm clearly not the target of either film, yet enjoyed both - what can I say? Forza, Catherine Hardwicke!
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★ 9 / 10
This movie is special to me, and it
missmiserys
This movie is special to me, and it probably always will be. It’s one of the first times I remember feeling “seen” in media as a young person that was starting…
This movie is special to me, and it probably always will be. It’s one of the first times I remember feeling “seen” in media as a young person that was starting to struggle with mental illness.
It’s not a perfect movie, and I think some of the scenes shouldn’t have really been graphically shown like they were bearing in mind that this is a movie directed at teenagers. However, that is a reality for some people, and I do understand the inclusion.
Overall though, this movie does a great job at depicting what it’s like to develop a mental illness and troubled family dynamics and how a mental illness can develop in a situation like that. Evan Rachel Wood gives such a fantastic performance as Tracy at such a young age.
I first saw this movie when I was about twelve or thirteen, and although it doesn’t hold quite the same amount of relatability for me that it did then, it still holds up for me close to ten years later. I’m glad it exists and depicts a painful reality, but being able to find something to relate to in that painful reality and that makes you feel “seen” can be something that’s helpful.
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★ 8 / 10
An Unpleasant, Realistic, Extremely Heavy and Outstanding Teen Drama
Zac_La_Porte
Hardwicke's and Reed's mature teen drama, constructed from Reed's experience, is developed as an adolescent character analysis that ends up being highly…
Hardwicke's and Reed's mature teen drama, constructed from Reed's experience, is developed as an adolescent character analysis that ends up being highly distressing, poignantly gritty, extremely unpleasant and unbelievably intense. Thirteen admittedly looks exactly like your average teen/coming-of-age story to deal and send a message about drugs, theft, sex and peer pressure during adolescence, but surprisingly, it's not.
The story centres on the average 13-year-old girl who isn't too matured until she is lead to the "cool-girl" lifestyle involving lots of mature subject matter for the movie by her new friend who identifies as the hottest and coolest girl at her school. This is an adolescent story of teenage peer pressure with lots of explicit language, drug and alcohol use, sexual references and grown-up teenage content that floods most teen movies, either dramas or comedies.
However, viewers should definitely keep in mind the fact that the themes in Thirteen shift more towards the heavy drama side, consisting of extremely gritty topics that will even have a powerful impact on mature audiences and adults. The ending certainly marks as the most traumatic experience out of the film, because unlike so many other teen movies, there's absolutely no answers and while it doesn't exactly leave off on an irritating cliffhanger, the conflict is never properly resolved. Thirteen will leave you with an unbelievable amount of unanswered questions and thoughts.
Throughout this movie, you can clearly tell that there were no tripods used for the camera and most of it was just recorded by hand. Some will probably see this as a little nauseating, but it perfectly suits the movie's visual tone and somehow manages to increase the intensity of the subject matter, notably at the end. The teenage and adult actresses are also mind-blowing in this movie. Their performances are shockingly lifelike and only few casts can achieve this effect. There is no single cast member who wasn't outstanding in this movie, even in the little roles that come and go.
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Great!!!