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All Over Me

1997, Movie, R, 90 mins

All Over Me: Review

This remarkable debut feature from director Alex Sichel and her sister, screenwriter Sylvia Sichel, is one of the few movies in recent years in which the teen angst really feels like teen angst. Allison Folland, who made a stunning debut in TO DIE FOR, stars as Claude, a heavy-set 15-year-old high school student living in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan with her single mom (nicely played by Ann Dowd). Claude's in love with her best friend, Ellen (Tara Subkoff), an underweight, emotionally fragile waif with a burgeoning heroin habit and an abusive boyfriend, Mark (Cole Hauser). When Ellen heads out for an evening with Mark, Claude heads straight for the fridge, gobbling Ben & Jerry's in front of the fun-house mirror that makes her look heavier than she actually is, though no heavier than she doubtless feels. But as Ellen's life spins further and further out of control, Claude is forced to make a choice: tag along as her friend self-destructs, forever holding Ellen's head over some public toilet, or getting a life of her own. The Sichel sisters perfectly capture the dicey no-girl's-land that lies somewhere between friendship and love, and Folland is a painfully naturalistic actress: When Claude freaks out to Patti Smith's "Pissing in a River," she takes the whole audience with her. If you've ever been there, you'll immediately know what Claude is going through; if you haven't, the Sichel sisters will show you just how it feels. leave a comment --Ken Fox