Newcomer Evan Rachel Wood delivers a startlingly mature performance as Tracy, a straight-A student whose life unravels when she falls under the sway of Evie (Nikki Reed, who co-wrote the screenplay at age thirteen). Together they dive headlong into a world of shoplifting, drugs, sex, and self-harm, testing every boundary in search of belonging and control. Holly Hunter, in an Oscar-nominated turn, anchors the chaos as Tracy’s overwhelmed mother, struggling to hold on as her daughter slips further away. 

Shot with handheld urgency and a jittering, intimate style, the film mirrors the volatility of its subjects, capturing both the rush and the wreckage of coming of age too fast. Over twenty years later, Thirteen remains a landmark of American independent cinema—at once shocking, tender, and unshakably real.