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This beautifully crafted short feature, examining adolescent lesbian identity in the 1960s, is an absolute gem. Director Su Friedrich approaches her subject from a number of different perspectives, combining fiction, talking heads and archival documentary sources. The central dramatic narrative involves 12-year-old tomboy Lou, whose desire to 'always want to do what boys do' has already marked her, to her peers, as a potential 'Lezzie'.
Lou's story is intercut with commentary from lesbians reflecting on their formative adolescent experiences in the 60s. Often amusing and sometimes painful, these anecdotes are tellingly paraphrased by excerpts from doctrinaire, allegedly educational films about sex and behaviour from the period. The intensity of Lou's world - the torn loyalties and the internecine rivalries of best friendships, the barely suppressed erotic charge of slumber parties and seances - is wonderfully evoked through expressive black-and-white cinematography and an equally evocative soundtrack (how can you resist a film that opens with The Monkees and closes with The Supremes?). Exceptional performances from the young cast, including a show-stopping playground rendition of Stop in the Name of Love makes for compelling viewing that leaves you longing for more.