Any person in order to change must go through suffering. The plane takes off against the wind – and nothing else. We all have a period of growing up in our lives. At this time, we change, therefore, we suffer. And all this happens, perhaps against our will. Thirteen years is the age when parting with the world of a child is especially acute.
What is the movie “Thirteen” about?
The 2003 film is about the lives of teenage girls as well as the lives of adults. A classic scene from such films: a new girl named Tracy arrives at school in Los Angeles. And if in other films she is of interest to everyone, then here she is pursued by failures. She wants to be the center of attention, but her peers, mostly girls, laugh at her both because of her naivety and because of her appearance, for example, because of her socks.
Meanwhile, there is another girl, Evie. She is the exact opposite: she dresses completely differently, is very popular. There are other differences between them, in particular, in the upbringing and perception of the world. But, as it turned out, there are similarities.
Tracy really wants to please Evie, maybe to become popular at school, maybe to assert herself. She begins to copy her behavior. First of all, she throws out her socks, and then – her favorite toys that are lying on her bed. She seems to be saying to herself: “We need to grow up!”
After that, Evie sets out to change her clothes. She goes to the store. Meeting Evie at a store with a friend, she sees how the two girls take things from the shelf and put them in their bag, which looks very much like theft. Then she goes out into the street, as if looking for some chance. Quite by chance, Tracy is next to an old woman who is talking on the phone, not paying attention to her purse. She steals her wallet, then immediately goes to Evie’s store and they spend the stolen money together on clothes.
A little later, they meet Tracy’s mother, Melanie. Evie says she looks more like Tracy’s older sister. After that, they go with Evie to a party where there are a lot of guys. There, Tracy’s girlfriend arrives, who is in fact in the same position that Tracy was at the beginning, before meeting Evie and before she changed clothes to be “cool”. But Tracy ignores her, forgetting that she herself was in exactly the same position recently.
There, at the party, they try drugs, and then spend time flirting with black guys who look a little older than these two girls. As they lie drunk on the lawn, Tracy finds her younger brother and takes them home with Evie.
At this time, Tracy’s mother’s lover, who had previously had friendly relations with Tracy herself, is visiting them. He gives her a gift, which she had begged her mother for a long time about, but she, in a state of intoxication from drugs and her new “adult” image, rejects the gift, says that she does not like it and goes to her room with Evie. Later it turns out that Tracy does not like the relationship between her mother’s lover and Melanie at all. She feels jealous. At the same time, Evie, while visiting her, flirts with her brother. Tracy then goes with Evie to a tattoo artist Evie has been friends with for a long time, and he pierces her tongue.
At the same time, Tracy starts having problems at school. She starts being late for classes and even misses them. Evie, who studies there, does not know such problems at all, because she practically does not attend school. Also at home, Tracy begins to behave aggressively, rolls scenes. Her mother doesn’t like it. She works from home as a hairdresser and Tracy interferes with her work by making scenes in front of clients.
Melanie suffers from a constant lack of money and the fact that she has to work hard. She herself grew up without a father, and Tracy also grows up without a father – their father divorced them. He has problems with work and doesn’t always see his family. Tracy thinks he’s a scumbag who doesn’t care about them. Before that, she was embarrassed to express her emotions, but now she speaks openly about her feelings, protests that her father’s things are in the house, and tries to interfere in Melanie’s telephone conversation with him.
Evie is not exactly a simple girl either. The fact is that she grows up without a father and without a mother. She has a guardian, her aunt Brooke. Brooke is an actress who at least dreams of making such a career for herself, and is often on the road. At this time, Evie is left to herself for weeks on end – hanging out around the city instead of school, engaging in petty theft, meeting guys. She is visiting Melanie, and she tells Evie that it’s time for her to go home, after another scandal with Tracy about her relationship with her father. Evie manages to pity her by the fact that she lives without a father, and her aunt’s lover once beat her.
Evie stays with Tracy, they live in the same room and even sleep in the same bed. However, at the same time, Evie goes for a walk in the park to meet with a black guy who is much older than her. Tracy is a little jealous. However, other guys from Evie’s circle also like her, and they are not averse to taking a walk with her too. Melanie asks Tracy a question about Aunt Evie’s boyfriend, and her deception is revealed that Brooke doesn’t currently have a boyfriend to beat her up.
Brooke is away on tour again, and Evie’s apartment is free. Tracy and Evie move to live there. They start drinking, smoking, dating older guys, and even using drugs. They commit several thefts. Tracy starts a relationship with a black guy. Then his black girlfriend comes in and confronts Tracy with her grievances. She doesn’t give a damn about her studies.
At the same time, Evie becomes jealous of Tracy in turn. She sees that adults take care of her and there are many people who care about her just because she is. She begs Melanie to adopt her so they can live together. But even Tracy is beginning to realize that she would not want such a life – it would be too hard for her to perceive this street environment, which is actually quite cruel. Tracy’s mother denies her desire to adopt her, and Tracy agrees with her mother. Evie feels betrayed.
As a result, Tracy quarrels with her. She is again being ignored at school. She accepts an attempt to cut her veins. Due to problems at school, she did not pass her tests, and she was left for the second year. Evie talks about the money and drugs that were hidden in Tracy’s room. Aunt Evie believes her niece that it was all planned by Tracy, not her niece. Brooke, who recently had plastic surgery, announces that she is leaving town with Evie. Tracy throws another tantrum, but ends up falling asleep on the bed, and her mother comes to her, who hugs her.
The meaning of the film “Thirteen”
The film tells about a girl who was just a child, and suddenly her life forced her to become an adult. Another girl, Evie, went down this path earlier, she had learned to lie and dodge earlier to stay afloat because she lived on the street. On the one hand, the film makes you endure Spanish shame about how naive Tracy behaves in these situations, and on the other hand, it is quite truthful. After all, we all behaved in the same way during this period of life.
At the same time, the issue of adult relationships is raised, that parents do not always go far from their children, and children from their parents. And also the fact that all this external nonsense, the position in society, the attitude of those around you are actually not very necessary things, and everyone will quickly turn away from you if you do not justify their requests. And in the first place, after all, relationships with loved ones, and not with random passengers on the path of our lives.
Explanation of the ending of the film “Thirteen”
The ending of the film here is expected and trivial – if you drink, walk, engage in promiscuity, then all this can only end in something bad. Unexpected was only the denouement with Evie. She also behaves like a child – after all, she is the same age as Tracy, and, despite all her adult experience, for some reason she thought that Melanie would want to see her daughter in her. Her revenge also seems to be commonplace, just like the behavior of her Aunt Brooke – she rushes from one place to another and cannot find herself, either due to problems with alcoholism, or from unreasonably high expectations.
