All Over Me

Anyone who grew up during the 90s may recall seeing this during Channel 4’s Queer Street strand. Teenage Claude is a music loving skater who can’t quite understand her feelings for mixed up best friend Ellen (Subkoff), until the arrival of the mysterious Luke and rock chick Lucy (The L Word and Uh Huh Her’s Hailey). The plot takes some potentially melodramatic turns, but it never becomes manipulative or excessive, its focus never shifting from Claude (Folland’s heartbreaking turn certainly helps). There’s not much in the way of suspense or momentum, but the bright, hazy photography and meandering structure achingly captures adolescence, from dreams of hitting the road to the painful immersion one can have in a really good song. Oh, and there are some really good songs on the (unobtrusive) soundtrack, from Patti Smith to Cornershop, via the Riot Grrrl acts which inspired the Sichel Sisters to make the movie in the first place. A 90s revival needs starting. [Lisa Bourke]