User reviews

New York -1990s. Claude is a teenager of our time, daughter of a divorced mother who let her face the challenges of teenage alone. Not quite alone though, since her best friend Hellen is never very far. As different in temperament as they are in appearance, sturdy, self-effacing Claude and fragile, volatile Ellen have long been at the center of each other's universe. In fact, Claude loves Hellen but does not know quite yet how to express her homosexuality. Anyway, Hellen is not gay. But with school almost over and summer in the air, Claude and Ellen have begun to discover more of the world outside Claude's room. Claude has met people like Jesse, Luke and Lucy, who seem to understand her much better than Ellen does. Meanwhile, Ellen has a new boyfriend, a macho neighborhood guy who shows signs of being violent. So much so that he participates in the murder of Luke. Over the course of a few days, events lead Claude to question, for the first time ever, her friendship with Ellen. Will she have to let go of the person she loves most in order to be happy and true to herself? Tough times, where urban teenagers become adults if they are lucky, or else end up in drugs, in prison, or dead… The type of movie we would like to believe is a horror fiction, rather than a picture of our nice so-called 'civilized' society.

Claude (Alison Folland) and Ellen (Tara Subkoff) are best friends in New York. Claude is struggling with her sexuality. Luke is a gay musician who moves into Claude's building. Jesse (Wilson Cruz) is a local gay teen. Ellen spends time with volatile boyfriend Mark (Cole Hauser). His friend Gus (Shawn Hatosy) keeps hitting on Claude. Luke gets into an argument with Mark and then Luke is later found murdered. Claude falls for indie musician Lucy (Leisha Hailey). Mark pushes Ellen into drugs as her friendship with Claude cracks under the pressure.

It's a coming-of-age drama with a bit of bite. Folland's performance is naturalistic. Hauser and Subkoff show their acting skills. The filmmaking is raw for newcomer Sichel sisters. It is amateurish at times but the story and the actors are compelling enough to maintain focus. This deals with many edgy subject matters but it keeps it within Claude's struggle for love. That makes this a more touching exercise than other tougher contemporary indies.

Exceptionally well done for a low budget indie with a novice auteur, "All Over Me" is a slice-of-life character study which follows an adolescent urban girl, Claude (Folland), with a-typical sexual inclinations and a dream of playing guitar in a rock band through the mean teen streets of NYC's low rent district where she struggles to cope with a best friend's drug abuse, the murder of an acquaintance, a dysfunctional mom for family, and her own low self esteem. In lieu of a solid story, this gritty little flick with limited appeal conjures powerful performances from some young actors and is worth a look for realists into films about "growing pains" and the quiet courage of youth. (B-)

All Over Me is not a very good film. The acting is good, especially from Wilson Cruz and Leisha Hailey, but the script is badly written, nothing is resolved at the end, and Tara Subkoff's character is too much of a ditz.

5/10

Dreaming of becoming a rock star and hanging out, Claude (Alison Folland) is just like any other fifteen year-old girl. Almost. As the school year nears an end, she finds her relationship with Ellen (Tara Subkoff) strained. And a new friend, Luke, enters her life.

Ellen is suddenly caught up in her new boyfriend, (Cole Hauser). However, Claude doesn't feel the same way about guys. Claude is attracted to girls. To be specific, she's fallen in love with Ellen. And all that happens is Ellen gets closer and closer to Mark.

When Ellen begins a downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, and late-night partying, Claude has to make a decision. Will she be there for Ellen when she needs her most? Or will she stop letting Ellen use her? To complicate things more, a new love interest enters Claude's life and another friend makes an exit.

Claude is forced to weigh the importance of her relationship with Ellen against her conscience. In the end she has to do the right thing and deal with her best friend hating her. In a matter of days, Claude loses two friends, gains one, and also gains a love. And in the end there is no looking back.

This film is the ideal indie movie. Subkoff and Folland shine along with the rest of the excellent cast. Superb writing and cinematography combined with a hip urban soundtrack make this a must see.

I loved this movie. The writing was right on, fantastic. This movie could have been very bad had it not been for the wonderful dialogue and the dynamics between the well crafted and developed characters. The casting was superb. Alison is soooo good. And Leisha has the best hair! The soundtrack is great, it included my favorite band, which was a surprise for me! I loved this movie's subtlness messages and how it's so open to interpretation. For instance, when Ellen says "I hate you." It's a great friendship movie and spoke powerfully to me as I've been in Claude's kind of position before. I watched it twice in one day.

The setting is Hell's Kitchen, the time the 90s, the lead characters, some confused, angst-ridden teens.

There's not much plot here, nor much character development. Just a brief walk on the wild side of big city life.

Focusing on a sensually ambivalent girl and her off and on lovers and acquaintances, there are very good performances and atmospheric details to savor.

Competently directed, with a rich rock track, these short vignettes explore a feminine teen scene rarely depicted in films. Make no mistake, though, this journey is definitely not for everyone, and only those who have the energy, stamina and interest in examining tough urban life from a young feminine perspective, will be rewarded.

All Over Me was a movie with a message. Ultimately a sweet girl with bad self-esteem issues decides to venture outside of her little fishbowl after accepting the advice of a kind new neighbor. She slowly realizes she's worth more than the manipulative and abusive friendship she's been in way too long. It's full of 90s subculture: the music, the clothes, the whole package. It also includes the two things that were truly terrifying about growing up gay in the 90s, the huge wave of drugs that hit during the time period (that wiped out more than its fair share of musicians in the process) and the overlooked but rampant (and violent) homophobia. This was my generation. When it came out, movies about gay characters were few and far between. I saw it when I was 17 and it just blew me away. Also if there are any L Word fans out there, it gives you the chance to see a very young Leisha Hailey, from back in her Murmurs days.

I just watched this film on IFC and was really impressed with how well done it was, the acting is really fantastic as well. This one was a sweet story and had real depth of the people we watched in the film. Bravo all around!

All Over Me is a film that isn't so much about telling a story as much as it is about feelings and emotions within the characters that are not so obvious at first. The intentions and desires of the characters unfolds as the movie progresses at a very slow pace, and the dialog is intentionally bland, not sharp in any way, as if it was real life. There is no attempt by the filmmaker or actors to make this look like it is a movie, beyond some rather artsy shots here and there. It is simply a window into a young girls life and the small, confused, somewhat corrupted world that surrounds her while she is making another transition in her development in life. This is a very subtle film with very few shifts in tone. The action that leads to the most drastic shift in the film is not even seen, only talked about later on. Even the more climatic moments result in not much happening, though tension does build on a number of occasions. The acting is top notch. In fact, the acting is so superb that it almost makes me wish that the script had just a little more zing to it since the actors could have definitely pulled off some colorful dialog and made for some classic scenes. Regardless of that, All over Me is a good enough film, though if you can't get into the characters or want to see a movie that feels like a movie and not a documentation of life, you won't dig it.

While I do not think it was a bad made film and the acting was decent, it was not enough to hold my attention. I would not say it was a horrible movie or the worst I have ever seen, but I also do not think I would be telling people to run out and see it. The character Ellen made me want to smack her and also the girl Claude for putting up with crap from Ellen. If you look closely there are several people who have gone onto bigger and better things that are in this not so well known film. It is easy to see the inner struggle between a girl trying to grow into herself and trying to be loyal to her undeserving best friend. This is a movie anyone who has an undeserving best friend should see.

Small, heartfelt movie, showing the realistic and bittersweet coming of age of an authentic teenage girl. The fact that she's gay and living in an urban slum makes it much more than a typical teen comedy. The shoestring budget and the heartfelt script make it all feel much warmer and more authentic than the dreck of the era, such as Chasing Amy by Kevin Smith.

This movie is a lost treasure!

I'm Jo-Jo from New York (Ernie is my husband and I can't erase his name from the heading!) I really loved this movie - I watch it all the time. The acting and dialogue were very natural. Having been a teenage girl myself - yes it sucks quite a lot but there are fun bits too and the film really did bring that across. I think its high time there was a sequel - are you listening Sichel sisters?! I care too much about these characters not to want to find out what happens to them. For example, I would like to see how Claude's relationship with Lucy develops, does she join Lucy's band or form one of her own, and how and when she comes out to her mother. Also, I'd like to see Social Services check into Ellen's living situation - where the hell are her parents?! Its a shame that any sequel will obviously not be able to include Luke - Pat Briggs seems to be a very talented guy and I'm surprised I haven't seen him in anything else. I love Patti Smith too! Does anyone agree with me?

by far one of the best coming of age films i've seen in a long time. deals with the trial and tribulations of teenager claude and her best friend ellen and follows their daily lives in hell's kitchen. claude clearly holds a torch for ellen who has an attraction to a local street thug named mark. claude eventually meets up with a local musician and cutie named lucy played leisha hailey of the l word fame. i liked how the relationship was developed and portrayed between between lucy and claude. the awkwardness and pangs of first love. the soundtrack to the film also kicked some serious ass as it used a lot of indie artists and girl bands from the nineties. definitely a keeper.

All Over Me is beautiful story of friendship, love, and the journey of finding yourself. The Sichel sisters' superb script and outstanding acting combine to create a story that is not so unique, but is completely real. Bringing everything together is a soundtrack that succeeds in highlighting all the best bands in indie-rock. If you are or ever were young and confused, check out this movie.

This movie would have been so much better if it had a plot. I can understand what the writer was doing, but I don't think he did it to well. If I had to explain this movie to someone I think I would have to say it's about characters growth. A teenaged girl in love with her best friend, forced by separation to find someone with the same feelings. But what I never got with this movie is, why was Ellen so stupid? She stayed with her murderer of a boyfriend even after he almost over-dosed her. And she made out with Claude. what was that about? I don't understand a lot of things about this movie, and I don't think anyone could really explain some of what they saw.

Recent docu-dramas such as KIDS and GIRLS TOWN score very big on presentation values and the way current society is told in a realistic manner. ALL OVER ME is pretty much like the rest of them. This one is another look at adolescent problems, but it delivers a frightening message about young teenage girls who are addicted to drugs, alcohol, alternative music, vulgarity, and homosexuality. Its moody and gritty urban setting makes the pleasure even scarier. Every bit of strong attention to detail is well done and well acted, although some may be offended by teenage lesbianism thrown into this thing. I doubt that many of us would feel embarrassed about it, since issues like this has creeped slowly into the mainstream. For me, GIRLS TOWN was better at delivering a rich docu-like account of youths doing all the wrong moves, but ALL OVER ME is another solid example of society gone bad. Pretty disturbing, but that's the whole truth!

This seems to be one of those hidden gems. I never would have rented it. Never would have flipped over to watch it... but, as luck would have it, I'm in the midst of the craft project and I turn over the HBO for a bit.

The film had me in about 30 seconds. Something in it just grabbed me, and I ended up staying awake until 3:00am to finish it. It wasn't too predictable, plot wise, and the setting was in-your-face reality (not usually my favorite...)

But the female lead, Claude, just blew me away. I needed to know what happened to her. Two thoughts kept running through my mind... first, that she is an excellent actress and second, that that character has some decent writing!

All in all, a good movie!

I love this movie! It is so real, and people of all ages and sexual preferences can relate to this storyline and the characters. The characters are intense and dramatic but are fresh faces and are real, none of them are made up to be portrayed as perfect, gorgeous and although most of them especially Leisha Hailey are good looking, they are not made up to be that way, they are natural, and it is good to see. I think that teenagers especially those who are confused about their sexuality can appreciate a movie like this, because it is saying that they are not the only one out there who has these problems and it could be somewhat of a comfort.

I really liked the movie. It reminded me of the movie "Kids", only not as harsh. The lead actress, who played Claude, was just fabulous. The director made the big city of New York, seem much smaller than it is.