Thirteen
 

Thirteen. This movie came out to good reviews earlier this year, a story of a rebellious daughter influenced badly by a girl at schoole etc etc.

Well, watching the DVD for the first time I was hugely disappointed. What I assumed would be the story of a girls slow degradation into becoming a horrible person, turned out to be a very porrly written take on the subject.

Despite being revelled as 'eye opening' and 'truthful', coming from this generation and living through it I see that it is neither of those.

The main character Tracy, starts off as the perfect nice, smart, hardworking teenage girl. Then, in literally five minutes, she sees her brother lusting after girl of ill repute Evie.

Suddenly, she wants to fit in with her... for her brothers affection? I don't know... but it was so sudden. She changes the way she dresses and snaps at her mum.

Then, she shows Evie her clothes and she tells her to phone her. What the hell? That doesn't happen! Ooh, I like your new clothes, be my friend.

Then the girls go stealing, and Tracy joins in to impress them. Them being of course, Evie and her voiceless friend. The film continues like this with the girls doing naughtier and naughtier things such as over the top prescription drugs and punching each other, as ewell as randomly making out and getting down with the horribly stereotyped bad boy black rapper boys from school. Seriously, every boy they flirt with is black and listens to rap, it's ridiculous. We also get to see Holly Hunter naked for no reason.

On the birhgt side, the cinematography is quite good (someones been studying) and the acting is good enough. However, after going from realy nice girl to insane druggy for no reason whatsoever, I lost a lot of hope for this film, and I don't rate it anywhere near what some people did.

5/10,

i found the movie to be quite honest. Maybe it has something to do with the areas you live in and social class. I was a bit shocked to see the sudden change and how stereotyped it all was. Although that didnt change what the movie was saying. I didn't really like the movie anyway. (to be honest me and some friends started watching it at 3am in hope of a lesbian scene popping up :blush: ) The only reason we continued to watch it was for shock value and how irritable it made you to watch such disgusting behaviour.

ps. incase you are wondering if we were rewarded with a lesbian scene..... yes, yes we were. now lets never speak of it again.

This was the most powerful movie to hit home, in my opnion, since Donnie Darko.

I can't see what you didn't like about this film. It was amazingly well done. Obviously you don't know the minds of teenage girls. Neither do I but how can you say that people dont like other people because they have good clothes. I mean you say "The doesn't happen." Maybe not where you come from but seriously that happenes a hell of alot. I mean if you dont have money to buy the "in" stuff your not going to be liked. Do you really think people judge others on the personality. The movie had amazing parts in it. You also said "We see Holly Hunter naked for no reason" There was a reason if you had been paying attention to this film. Her boyfriend took her to the shower to help calm her down after her daughter just freaked out on her. I mean come on guy put some logic behind your thoughts.

Also there the thing about how she changed for no reason. She had a reason she actually wanted to be notcied by the cute boys at her school. She wanted to be known with the "cool" girls in her school. She just wanted to fit in. So thats why she changed. She thought doing the same stuff that Evie was doing would get her notcied and thus becoming one of the group.

About the whole thing about sterotypes. Who cares if she went with a black guy or only flirted with the black guys. Does that really have to mean anything. I dont think so. If was her choice. She say Evie doing it so she wanted to as well.

Now no offence but its people like you giving bad reviews to films that dont deserve it. I know its a matter of opinion but still. You should think of what your really going to write before you do it. Maybe watch the film a couple times and try and put yourself in the characters shoes.

I can't see what you didn't like about this film. It was amazingly well done.

Like I said, the cinematography was good, the direction was good. It's the story and certain script elements I had problems with. It's VERY exagerrated and rushed at the start.

Obviously you don't know the minds of teenage girls.

I'm 18, and have studied subcultures of my generation. HOWEVER, this film is in suburbian America, whereas I am from urban England, which are naturally every different places.

Neither do I but how can you say that people dont like other people because they have good clothes. I mean you say "The doesn't happen." Maybe not where you come from but seriously that happenes a hell of alot.

Not in the sense it did here. Suddenly this girl comes up to someone she blanked just a day before and gives her her number and invites her out because she likes her clothes? Come on there must have been a hundred other girls she also invited out if she was that quick at it. Also, the clothes were completely off target for the culture they lived. Skate punk rip off clothes are not worn by drug induced high school bimbos who listen to rap and sleep around.

I mean if you dont have money to buy the "in" stuff your not going to be liked. Do you really think people judge others on the personality. The movie had amazing parts in it.

It's overexagerrated. The girl never cared before, why now? And that statement is incorrect, maybe to shallow insecure people... but again, we have school uniforms here so clothes are not a part of in school life.

You also said "We see Holly Hunter naked for no reason" There was a reason if you had been paying attention to this film. Her boyfriend took her to the shower to help calm her down after her daughter just freaked out on her. I mean come on guy put some logic behind your thoughts.

Excuse me, what ever happened to implied nudity? We did NOT need to see that. Nudity should only be used to shock or convey some other idea, not purely because she happened to be about to take a shower.

Also there the thing about how she changed for no reason. She had a reason she actually wanted to be notcied by the cute boys at her school.

You do realise the only person checking out Evie was her brother right? And again, a very shallow reason, which being the intelligent girl she was would not have been enough to change her completely. Where was the jindication that that's what she wanted? Where was the show of torment she suffered at her life as an outsider? There wasn't any. She just suddenly thought 'hmm, ****ing up my life might be something cool to try'.

She wanted to be known with the "cool" girls in her school. She just wanted to fit in. So thats why she changed. She thought doing the same stuff that Evie was doing would get her notcied and thus becoming one of the group.

Dude, Evie was probably the loneliest character in the film. Granted that's only discovered later, but please, an intelligent girl would know when enough is enough. She would have hesiteated before stealing, drinking, sleeping around, doing drugs etc for the first time. But no, she dived in head first.

About the whole thing about sterotypes. Who cares if she went with a black guy or only flirted with the black guys. Does that really have to mean anything. I dont think so. If was her choice. She say Evie doing it so she wanted to as well.

Come on, I'm against racial outcries at the slightest hint as anybody, but EVERY bad influence in the film was black. And at the end the random sterotype black girl comin up and threatening her, just buliding up this sterotype. I'm not saying the film is racist, I'm just saying the writer inadvertantly portrayed black people as they are stereotyped.

Now no offence but its people like you giving bad reviews to films that dont deserve it. I know its a matter of opinion but still. You should think of what your really going to write before you do it. Maybe watch the film a couple times and try and put yourself in the characters shoes.

I don't think itwas a bad review at all, perhaps a little rushed but I stand by what I said. Thank you for the chance to explain furhter though, I hope you can see somewhat where I'm coming from now.

I really thought the movie was brilliant. If the co.writer was Nikki Reed who plays Evie, then this proves that they wanted to make a real story about adolecence. It was very enjoyable in my opinion!

i think this movie was awesome as well, it was realistic for the most part.
some things your like wow, that doesn't happen. but you know what? it probably does..well no it does. the whole clothes thing, she was trying to fit in and she did. the girls accepted her which is what she wanted. that happens a whole lot, the idea of being accepted. great movie i think.