A One Mann’s Movies review of “over/under”. (2026, 4*, 15).
My thanks to Bulldog Film Distribution for sending me an early screener copy of “over/under”, a new coming of age drama and the directorial debut of Sophia Silver. According to IMDB, this seems to have sat on the shelf since 2022 (which must be a strange experience for its two young stars) and is only coming to streaming in the UK on August 24th and in the US on August 25th.
This is an all woman written/directed film which, given the subject matter, I think is the only way it could have been done. But I was really pleasantly surprised by this one, both in terms of the quality of the script and the quality of the acting of the two leads. But I also view it as an important film for parents in broaching discussion on some tricky subjects for daughters (and indeed sons) in the 9 to 12 age range.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
Violet West (Emajean Bullock) and Stella Steinberg (Anastasia Veronica Lee) are 9 years old and best friends. Their families – from San Diego and LA respectively – spend their summer holidays together at the coast in New England. But as puberty and sex rears its ugly head, their innocent friendship gets placed under progressive strain.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This has not yet received a rating by the BBFC or the MPAA and is a bit of a tricky one to judge. As I have said, I think this film would be useful viewing for 9 year olds as a part of sex and relationship education when watched with parents. So it would be good to get a “PG” rating put on it. But the content might force the BBFC/MPAA to put a 12A/PG-13 rating on it instead… which is still OK for that age-range with that parental approval being given. So I suspect that will be the rating it will get.)
Talent:
Starring: Emajean Bullock, Anastasia Veronica Lee, Adam David Thompson, Madeline Wise, Christiane Seidel, Brandon Keener, Valeria Cotto, Skye Roberts.
Directed by: Sophia Silver.
Written by: Sophia Silver & Sianni Rosenstock.
Running Time: 1h 28m.
Review:
Positives:
- Hats off to Emajean Bullock (in her feature debut) and Anastasia Veronica Lee as the two leads. The film clearly lives and dies on whether you view this relationship as real and genuine or ‘just child actors acting’. And the pair absolutely nailed it. Assuming that the filmmakers didn’t ‘do a Richard Linklater Boyhood’ thing and film the movie over a number of years, the girls manage to pull off the neat trick of making you believe they are innocent 9 year-olds girls at the start of the film and more-sophisticated, made-up, 13-year-olds young women at the end of it. Their acting is (aside from just one or two minor moments in the whole film) entirely natural and joyful and I genuinely believed they were best friends, joined at the hip, navigating these difficult years together. Take a bow ladies.
- The script by first-time screenwriters Sophia Silver and Sianni Rosenstock is really nicely judged. We are introduced to some background storylines – a cancer journey for Stella’s mother; a workaholic father causing stress in Violet’s family – but they support rather than intrude on the story. For example, when Stella worries about her breast-buds coming in, her caring father (Adam David Thompson) comforts her that “It’s OK, it’s not cancer”.
- At the core of the story is a wonderfully portrayed childhood friendship between Stella and Violet, that starts with wishes over ‘morning moths’ and visiting fairies (before such talk becomes ‘uncool’) and ends with discussions about first- and second-base and love-bites. All of the sex-related talk is delicately handled. Although the pair spend their summer days lying on the sand dunes overlooking a nudist beach, being grossed out on the body parts on show, the ‘action’ of the two sub-14 year olds never proceeds beyond french kissing and some adolescent groping. (This is thankfully not a ‘teen-pregnancy’ type of drama.)
- But I think this is a really interesting film to watch with 9 or 10-year-olds as entry point to a parental discussion on the topics. Violet starts the film as the withdrawn outsider, being bullied at school by a spiteful Lauren (a very good Skye Roberts), with Stella tending to be the one gathering the ‘moths’ of friendships, such as that of the slightly older and more worldly-wise holiday-friend Gaby (Valeria Cotto). But as Violet’s puberty advances ahead of Stella’s (still desperately stuffing her bra with tissue paper), she becomes the cool one (and even at times a bully herself) and it is Stella that is feeling left-out and depressed. Boys will not get as much out of this film, but in terms of understanding the very physical issues that girls of that age are going through, it is still educational for them. In that regard, the film reminded me somewhat of the excellent “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” from 2023.
Negatives:
- This is a really slow-moving and delicate story, exploring the relationship of the two girls as they grow. Nothing very much happens. So if you are looking for a story story, then this one might not be for you.
- I’ll bet a lot of reviewers might duck this one… but as a older reviewer of the male persuasion, I had moments where I was feeling distinctly uncomfortable at the scenes I was watching. To be VERY clear, I am not a paedophile: I do not see children in that way at all and given the option would personally burn child-abusers at the stake. But there are scenes in this film such as the two girls showering together; the two girls practising kissing/french-kissing (on their hands, not mouth-to-mouth); of the girls cuddling up in bed; of Violet teaching Stella how to insert a tampon; etc., that kept reminding me that a whole bunch of pedos are really going to be enjoying ‘this bit’. That made me feel a bit disgusted with myself for even thinking that way, given that the film really is so wholesome, but more-so for the sick bastards that were in that mentally-deranged category.
Summary Thoughts:
I thought this was a really interesting and sensitive coming-of-age drama with some really super central performances. I think the subject matter could add real value to parents in opening up discourse about puberty and relationships, especially for young girls.
Recommended, so watch out for it at the end of next month. (If I can find it on the Justwatch database nearer the date, I’ll update the widget below).
Where to watch?
At the time of writing, this film is not yet on the Justwatch database.
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEwkvaw6kng.
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