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Order this DVD from Amazon.com
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Thirteen
(Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment)
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| DVD Release Date:
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January 27, 2003
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| Length:
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99 mins.
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| Rated:
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R
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| Format:
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Widescreen (1.85:1), Full Screen (1.33:1)
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| Audio:
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English 5.1 Dolby Surround, Spanish 2.0 Dolby Surround, French 2.0 Dolby Surround
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| Subtitles:
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English, Spanish, Closed Captioned
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| Extras:
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Full-Length Audio Commentary by Director/Co-Writer Catherine Hardwicke, Co-Writer/Actor Nikki Reed and Actors Evan Rachel Wood and Brady Corbet, 10 Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary, "Making Of" Featurette, Theatrical Trailer
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Having two young daughters myself, Thirteen was at best, difficult to watch. Is this what I have to look forward to? Is this really how girls turn out? Do I really have to be that protective of who my girls associate with? If so, I may be in for a lot of trouble. Then again, the girls depicted in this movie are growing up in a much different environment. But unfortunately, we have peer pressure and the need to fit in working against us. Oh well - my girls are only 2 and 3 years old. I have a while before I have to worry about any of this.
Thirteen is the story of Tracy Freeland (Evan Rachel Wood) - what you would expect a typical thirteen year old to be - until she hooks up with Evie (Nikki Reed), one of the most popular girls in school. Drawn in by the need to be cool, Tracy falls under Evie's spell and comes undone, falling into the world of drugs, sex and crime. Of course, it's not all Tracy's fault. At times, it's also a cry for help. Her parents are separated. Her father has a new job and barely has time for his daughter. Her mother (Holly Hunter) is a recovering addict working to make ends meet, dating a someone who Tracy saw doing drugs himself - and she hates him for it. And through it all, Tracy is just begging for some attention - and she doesn't get it. So, when the "cool girls" at school make fun of how she dresses, that's enough to put her over the edge. She makes herself over with some new clothes, gets accepted into the "cool" society and begins her whirlwind downward descent. And from there - drugs, sex, some difficult-to-watch suicide attempts - it ain't pretty. But again, you can't really blame Tracy. There are a lot of other factors that need to be considered - least of all, Evie, who is just evil. And when things don't go her way, she turns on Tracy and again, it's not nice.
For special features, there's a pretty good commentary from director Catherine Hardwicke, and actors Evan Rachel Wood, Nikki Reed and Brady Corbet (Tracy's brother in the film). This was a pretty fun commentary. Given the theme and tone of the movie, the participants seemed to have a really good time, during both the filming and the commentary. The commentary is a real giggle-fest between the girls, with some insights into the filming process thrown in by Hardwicke. Corbet throws in his own one-liners every once in a while. For the most part, they talk about the difficulties of shooting on such a tight budget (throwing a few jabs at Fox Searchlight for only coming on board after it was done to handle distribution) and the problems working with the kids since they were all under age. Again, a fun listen and a good complement to the film.
Also included for special features, we get a very brief "making of" featurette, that really doesn't show much "making of" the film - but how much can you really fit into 5 minutes? And finally, there are 10 deleted scenes with optional director's commentary. I watched first without the commentary, and they didn't really do it for me. I watched again with the commentary, thinking I'd get a little more insight, but it wasn't really there. Hardwicke pretty much sets up the scene and tells us that she cut the scene to trim the time and pacing of the finished product.
For an independent production, I guess there isn't that much money to put into the vast features you'll find on some of your bigger titles. However, the features (or lack thereof) on this disc are rescued by the commentary. Definitely worth a listen.
Overall, Thirteen is a very good movie, although a tough sell. That is, unless you have daughters (or even sons) around this age, in which case this movie is almost required viewing. If you are at all concerned about what your kids are doing, or the dangers of who they are hanging out with, you must watch this movie. Even for kids in this age group, this is a movie you should check out to see what mistakes you shouldn't make. It's too bad the movie didn't find more of an audience during it's theatrical run. You can only hope it has a good life on DVD, if only for its educational value. There's a lot more of reality in this movie than most reality shows on TV these days. The only question is whether it's too much?
| The Movie: |
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8/10 |
| The Extras: |
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6.5/10 |
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Liam Cullin - Editor
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