All Over Me

A sincere rites-of-passage movie from two first-timers (Alex Sichel directing, and sister Sylvia writing). Fifteen-year-old Claude (Folland) is loyal to her better-looking best friend Ellen (Subkoff, affecting), despite the latter's self-destructive, sex 'n' drug liaison with aggressive homophobic arsehole Mark (Hauser), who may have been involved in the sadistic murder of a gay Hell's Kitchen neighbour. It's the last day of school and as adult life beckons unenticingly, the girls' intimacy crosses over to the sexual. Music scene debutantes (Briggs from Psychotica, Hailey from the Murmurs as Claude's lesbian friend) perform impressively, but Folland is the stand-out. She doesn't overplay her teenage confusion, carries scenes with expressive looks when the script - the film's big let-down - lapses, and gears up credibly when her character's courage and assertiveness come into play. Joe DeSalvo shoots the interiors and NY streets in harmony with the movie's desultory mood, and there's a sensitive score by Miki Navazio.