Thirteen

Two incredibly strong acting performances drive this movie. Holly Hunter really should have won her second Oscar for this and Evan Rachel Wood should have at the very least received a nomination.

Wood plays Tracy, a typical thirteen year old girl, getting decent grades at school, but not one of the in-crowd.  Her life (and her mother's) turn upside down when she becomes friends with one of the cool kids, Evie (Nikki Reed).  From a sweet girl who respects her family and does chores for her mum (Hunter). Tracy gets involved with drugs, alcohol, petty crime and self-harm, getting involved so deep she's a completely different person come the end of the movie, much to the emotional drain of her family and especially her mother.

It's more than just a movie about teen angst, it's also about manipulative friendships and how parents are sometimes almost powerless to stop their kids falling in with the wrong type.

A big surprise is how well directed this film is, beginning in rich colour and slowly becoming black & white as it depicts Tracy's descent into her troubles.  

It's a huge shame director Catherine Hardwicke had to go and (arguably) ruin her career with the first Twilight movie.