Thirteen

Jeez! 'Thirteen' gets deep! I picked this one out on a whim on Prime Video, having known absolutely zilch about it... even after I checked a few minor things about it (checking to see if it has a sequel or whatever, as I do for any film I watch) I was expecting a simple, cliché teen story. I did catch a glimpse of one of Prime's images for it and it looked dramatic, but I just imagined it was the character's overreaction to getting dumped or something silly like that. It wasn't! Even so, across the opening chunk of the movie I was still anticipating the aforementioned. Yet, from just prior to the midway point really, things get deeper by the minute - not long later, I was genuinely hooked. It's a great film. I guess that's why you don't judge a book by its cover and all that, and why I don't read about flicks before watching them - I love being surprised! The performances are truly excellent, none more so than that of Evan Rachel Wood - superb! Nikki Reed (even though I kept seeing Charisma Carpenter...) gives a strong showing too, as does Holly Hunter (even though I kept hearing Mrs. Incredible...). Wood and Hunter particularly earn their stripes across the second half. Credit to the rest of them too, including Jeremy Sisto. Feature debutant Vanessa Hudgens is squeezed in there too. If I hadn't had noticed in my checks beforehand that this shared the same director as 'Twilight', I'm pretty sure I would've known instantly with this - a clear style, notably at the beginning, if a tad questionable in minor moments. I'm clearly not the target of either film, yet enjoyed both - what can I say? Forza, Catherine Hardwicke!