Thirteen (2016)

Thirteen (2016): A relatively unbearable and hard-to-watch film! Why? Because it is strewn with little anecdotes, the film often overdoes it by offering us a potpourri of everything that can happen in the head of an American teenager in the middle of a crisis: scarification, piercing, unbridled sexuality, theft, drugs, alcohol, school failure, violence…

It feels like a best of teenage decay, which is terribly detrimental to the film’s credibility.

The story is too naive. A superficial sketch of this unique period of life is difficult to stage. The events are clichés and play the card of overkill while remaining too politically correct. Finally, the finale with its puerile moral shows us that we can overcome all our family problems…

The actresses are great, of course. Especially the horrible Nikki Reed, the one who pulls the wrong way. Because she also co-wrote this film. At fourteen, she must have done all the wrong things… and been perfectly aware of it. That’s impressive!

But Evan Rachel Wood is also perfect in this role.

Holly Hunter as a mother who seems to be afraid of her daughter and can’t get anywhere with her. But this can also be seen as a huge proof of love, as she has so much patience.

As for Jeremy Sisto, it was always a pleasure to see him.

A relatively shocking film! It does not reassure in any way and does not make you want to have teenagers.

At times, the camera moves so much that it looks like a documentary on MTV. But it’s still watchable. It’s not found footage.

It was a difficult moment for me… but my assessment is that it’s still a good film, well made, well directed despite everything.