All Over Me

Claude and Ellen are two girls growing up together in a rough part of New York. Music, drugs, gigs and the neighbourhood's homophobia are all inside the same life. Claude cannot name what she feels for Ellen; Ellen takes up with a violent boyfriend. Then a senseless killing happens nearby and the bond between the two girls cannot carry it. Alex Sichel's film is one of the few in 1990s American independent cinema to tell queer adolescence. The telling is small in scale and everyday, working through looks and silences rather than declarations. The women-led punk scene of the period supplies the film's sound. Alison Folland plays Claude and Tara Subkoff plays Ellen, with Wilson Cruz and Leisha Hailey in the cast. Who it's for: Viewers who like 1990s independent cinema, queer film history, and atmosphere built through music. Who it's not for: The budget shows in the image and the plot is slight. Part of the film's value comes from its historical position.