thirteen

I thought this was a good film. The acting was top-notch, Hunter even picked up a well-deserved Oscar nomination for her role. There has been a lot of criticism about the unbelievability of the characters, but I think those critics missed the point. Not everyone is exactly like those two girls, but if you take away the illegal activities and strip the film down to its basic message I think every girl can see herself in Tracey's place. At that age most are trying to rebel and hate their parents. Mothers are left wondering what she did wrong and where her little girl went. Should she be a parent or should she try to stay in the girl's life as a friend? That said, there are people that age who do the things that Tracey and Evie do. But, there are also kids like Mason and Tracey's pre-Evie friends who would never do them and can't understand why anyone would. The film does show that not every teenager uses drugs and steals, it's in the background but it's there.