More than proving that age is not a factor, former production designer Catherine Hardwicke ("Vanilla Sky," "Tombstone," "Laurel Canyon" and "Three Kings") and first time director (at age 48) simply entitled film, "Thirteen," is a potent, tortured portrait of alienation and a desperate search for self-identity. Co-written by Hardwicke with 15-year-old co-star Nikki Reed, the film chronicles the frenzied life of a rebellious Southern California thirteen-year-old girl (an agonized soul of angst and self-mutilation, excellently played by Evan Rachel Wood) and her troubled relationship with her insecure, neurotic mother (an equally good Holly Hunter).

The film is a nervous wreck of a movie reflecting the shattered emotions of the people in it. Using a desaturated color scheme, Hardwicke's jittery, restless camera details a frantic haze of drugs, tantrums and self-desperation. Though the film is somewhat let down by an inconclusive ending (neither uplifting nor downbeat), "Thirteen" still packs a powerful wallop and reveals Hardwicke to be a genuinely impressive talent.