Ginger and Rosa
Dir: Sally Potter
2012
***
Sally Potter's 2012 drama is about friendship, politics and adolescence. Ginger and Rosa, born minutes apart, with their mother's hospital beds next to each other in the labour ward, have grown up together and share a unique bond. Both have liberal upbringings and upon young womanhood, both become increasingly torn by their beliefs and ideals. When Rosa begins a relationship with Ginger's politically active father and Ginger joins a revolutionary group apposed to the Cuban missile crisis, things break down between the two of them. Ginger's wayward paranoia of an impending nuclear attack is really a rouse and is a reaction to her father and best friend's disloyalty. I think Elle Fanning shows the sort of maturity and understanding of her character that will make her an A-list contender before long. The supporting performances from Alessandro Nivola, Annette Bening, Timothy Spall and Oliver Platt are great but don't really get the screen time they deserve. It is well directed, with a woozy dreamlike quality that the viewer will either love or loathe but one should watch for the performances above all.