PARK CITY -- "Thirteen" could be a lucky film as a back-to-school fall release. Based on its searing look at junior high life, it's a seventh-grade "Less Than Zero." Playing in the Dramatic Competition here at Sundance, it's a chilling look at a pair of contemporary Valley girls -- 13-year-olds who are way beyond their years but also are nearly beyond repair.

Based on San Fernando Valley teenager Nikki Reed's personal experiences as a seventh grader, a driven teen who rose at 4:30 a.m. to set her hair and prepare for the day of the girl vs. girl daily grind, "Thirteen" entertainingly depicts the overpowering tribal pressures that modern-day teens face in this era of absentee or dysfunctional parents.

In this unnerving glimpse into the downward spiral of two young girls' lives, filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke has distilled with Reed -- they co-wrote the script -- the grim underside of the glamour girls who flaunt their piercings and their teen sexuality. Narratively, "Thirteen" is an updated Valley-ized spin on the "outsiders" genre. It focuses on Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood), a seemingly well-adjusted teen whose penchant for poetry as well as scholastic gifts has attracted her teachers' attention. But Tracy yearns for larger status: She sees herself as a dull geek and dreams of being like the "hot" girls. Almost overnight, Tracy revamps her wardrobe and brazenly cultivates the good graces of the hottest girl in school, Evie (Nikki Reed), whose sultry looks, sassy charms and snotty allure are beyond cool.

Soon, Tracy is slinking in low-rise jeans, hoochie tops and assorted rings and piercings. She's crashed the hottie club and sneaking off to Melrose Avenue to shoplift, cavort and generally rebel. Her acting out is not just a desire to be cool but also a direct emotional assault on her single-parent mother (Holly Hunter). Her actions in part stem from her mom's co-dependent relationship with a "loser" boyfriend out of rehab (Jeremy Sisto) as well as her spacy mismanagement of the day-to-day household.

While today's audiences are perhaps inured to dysfunctional family life via the so-called comedic entertainment of reality shows, "Thirteen" is an engaging, sympathetic portrait of junior high girls who have grown up too fast and way too little. Without being preachy, it's also a cogent, terrifying tale of the lack of supervision many teens face and the utter inability of many parents to not only raise kids but also to direct their own lives. It is compelling largely because of the talented cast, most prominently Wood as the good girl with a self-destructive bent and Reed as her manipulative mentor. Hunter is touching as a rattled mother whose life revolves around AA meetings, while Sisto is credible as a recovering addict whose loser life belies the depth of his manhood.

THIRTEEN
Credits:
Producers: Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Michael London
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Screenwriters: Catherine Harwicke, Nikki Reed
Director of photography: Elliot Davis
Editor: Nancy Richardson
Production designer: Carol Strober
Costume designer: Cindy Evans
Music supervisors: Michelle Norrell, Amy Rosen
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
Cast:
Tracy: Evan Rachel Wood
Evie Zamora: Nikki Reed
Melanie: Holly Hunter
Mason: Brady Corbett
Brady: Jeremy Sisto
Luke: Kip Pardue
Brooke: Deborah Unger
Birdie: Sarah Clarke
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating