Thirteen (2003)

Remember what it was like to be a teenager? Remember how important it felt to fit in with the rest of your peers? I certainly do, and it is partly for that reason that this film resonates with me in the way it does. And if you can remember these feelings of general teenage angst, perhaps it will strike a chord with you, too.

Thirteen-year-old Tracy Freeland (Evan Rachel Wood) lives with her mother Melanie (Holly Hunter) and brother Mason (Brady Corbet). Having just started at a new school, all she wants is to fit in. And rather than being one of the oldest students in school, now all of a sudden she is one of the youngest. Also now she has things like hormones and peer pressure to contend with.

Desperate to fit in with the group she sees as the 'in crowd', she begins changing her appearance: firstly changing the types of clothes she wears, and how she does her hair; she even starts experimenting with makeup.

The self-appointed 'leader' of this group - and the girl Tracy wants to befriend the most - is Evie Zamora (Nikki Reed). All the girls want to be her, and all the guys want to be with her, which Tracy takes to mean she must be someone she ought to emulate.

Evie is reluctant at first, after all, Tracy has never been one of the cool kids. But slowly, she begins to warm up to her, and the two become very close.

All of a sudden, Tracy's world bursts wide open, as troublemaker (for that is what she really turns out to be) Evie introduces Tracy to drugs, alcohol and boys, as well as petty crime.

But despite her mother's protests, as desperate as Tracy is to fit in with the cool kids, she goes along with everything Evie tells her to do, to the eventual detriment of every single aspect of her life.

Her grades plummet for the first time in her life, she starts being incredibly rude to her mother and brother, and her physical wellbeing is all but ruined.

And to make matters worse, eventually Evie turns on her with such malice that her entire world falls apart.

The screenplay, written by director Catherine Hardwicke and co-star Nikki Reed, is absolutely magnificent, and I don't use that word lightly. The twists and turns of the lives of all the characters - but particularly Tracy - are, from the perspective of analysing the writing, a joy to behold. Of course, the events themselves are anything but joyful, but the skill with which all the threads of the storyline interweave is really something.

The performances of the entire cast are also magnificent, particularly Evan Rachel Wood as protagonist Tracy. Of course, neither her nor Nikki Reed were actually thirteen at the time the film was made (as if they had been, the film probably couldn't have been made!) but in fact they both portray their characters so well, it is easy to forget that.

I also must make mention of Holly Hunter's performance here, which is without a doubt one of the best in her entire career, and again, I don't say that lightly. The love that she shows to her daughter - and in the absolute worst of times - is truly beautiful, making this film so much deeper than simply the surface events of the plot. In fact, this film is about the connection between a mother and a daughter, and the unconditional love that a (good) mother will always have for her child(ren).

I still remember after seeing this film for the first time many years ago - in fact, not long after it was released - and wondering to myself if there wasn't even a religious undertone to the story. I particularly felt strong feelings about this after the events of the end of the film (which of course, I won't spoil for you). Given the nature of most of the plot, it was difficult at first to convince anybody else of my impressions of the film as perhaps a large-scale religious allegory.

However, by the time several years had passed, and co-screenwriter and director Catherine Hardwicke had gone on to direct the first Twilight movie, and also the film The Nativity Story, I realised that my first assumptions about this film were almost certainly correct.

This is another reason why I have such a profound respect for this film, and for the messages it sends to its audience. The bond of love between Melanie and her daughter is so strong - even after everything that has happened - that there is no way you can not be brought to tears witnessing it.

I could continue to go on about this film forever, but I should just wrap this up. In a nutshell, all I really want to say is you have to see this film. And after you see this film, call your mother and apologise to her for being such a horrible teenager (and let's face it, we were all horrible to our mother when we were teenagers).

I'm giving this film 9 out of 10.