Main Cast: Nina Dickens, Lillian Folley, Hermine Douglas, Alan Douglas, Anisa Dickens
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 87 minutes
Plot
Thirteen won the Don Quixote Prize from the FICC at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival, and earned Virginia-based painter turned filmmaker David Williams the Movado Someone to Watch Award at the 1999 Independent Spirit Awards. This was more than a year after the completion of Thirteen, his second feature. Williams' film blurs the line between documentary and fiction. He cast neighbor Lillian Folley and her daughter, Nina Dickens (the title refers to her age), as the mother and daughter leads in the film. The two had previously appeared in Lillian, Williams' first feature, which dealt with Lillian's adoption of Nina. The dialogue in Thirteen was unscripted. Williams started filming with a few basic story ideas and hoped the film would find its own path. Shortly after the film opens, we learn from Lillian's laconic narration that the quiet, moody Nina has run away from home. Williams cuts back and forth between the outpouring of concern Lillian gets from friends and family and Nina's low-key adventures on the road. Just as the social workers are about to begin their investigation in earnest, Nina nonchalantly comes home. Lillian is so relieved that her anger immediately dissipates. The automobile-obsessed Nina then decides to do everything she can to earn money to buy a car. At first Lillian thinks this is a passing fancy, like many of Nina's interests, but it soon becomes clear that Nina's determination is very strong. Soon she's earning money posing for a local artist, and looking after neighborhood children and pets. She even (unsuccessfully) applies for a job as a real estate agent. Lillian is proud of her daughter's industriousness, despite her obvious inability to drive. Things don't go quite according to Nina's plans, but the bond between her and Lillian grows stronger. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Review
Thirteen is an unusually modest and true-to-life exploration of adolescence and family dynamics. Independent filmmaker David Williams captures something universal in his character study of one very enigmatic teenage girl, Nina (Nina Dickens). At first, Nina seems sullen and socially inept as she runs away from her suburban Virginia home and hitchhikes to the mountains. She doesn't speak to any of the friendly people who pick her up and sometimes feed her, and when they've taken her as far as she needs to go, she trots off with only a perfunctory wave. She returns home with the same casual attitude. But gradually, Williams allows us to enter Nina's world, and understand this shy, awkward, but strong-willed girl a bit better. When she announces to her reserved but loving mother (Lillian Folley) that she's too old to continue her nervous habit of sucking on her finger, we feel her growing sense of self. And when she mischievously pretends to relapse later for Lillian's benefit, we get a sense of her quiet wit. At first, her sullenness seems to suggest a defeatist attitude, but over the course of the film, we learn how impressively dogged she can be. Her determination to earn money for a car unleashes an aggressive ambition that is almost comical in its intensity. She poses for an artist, a family friend, and when he finishes his painting, she's extremely critical, but it's a good likeness. Like the painting, Williams' film isn't flawless (the performances are uneven), but it's well-observed and it captures the essence of Nina. Thirteen is a uniquely gentle, good-natured, and perceptive film about a teenager. Like its quiet, moody protagonist, the movie grows on you, and lingers in the memory. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Cast
Nina Dickens - Nina
Lillian Folley - Lillian
Hermine Douglas - Secretary
Alan Douglas - Computer Operator
Anisa Dickens - Kiki
Dynisha Dickens - Niecy; Mary Aytes - Babysis
Credit
David Williams - Director, David Williams - Editor, Carlos Garza - Composer (Music Score), Cecil Hooker - Composer (Music Score), Shep Williams - Composer (Music Score), David Williams - Cinematographer, David Williams - Producer, Bernice Baker - Sound/Sound Designer, Mark Ching - Sound/Sound Designer, David Williams - Screenwriter
