thirteen

2003 ****1/2 99 mins.

This is a truly shocking and compelling look into the dangerous world of early adolescence. It is films like this that make me weep for the future. Of course, as this film also shows, there is always hope, even in the darkest of situations. The story centers around Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood), who has just begun seventh grade and befriends the most popular girl in school (Nikki Reed, who also co-wrote the screenplay). Tracy's "perfect little girl" existance does a complete 180 as she enters the world of drugs, sex, alcohol, and just about any excess imaginable. Parents take note.
Rated R for drug use, self-destructive violence, language, and sexuality - all involvoing young teens.