Ginger & Rosa

Stars: Elle Fanning, Alice Englert, Alessandro Nivola, Oliver Platt, Christina Hendricks, Annette Bening, Timothy Spall, Jodhi May, Oliver Milburn

Director: Sally Potter

Two girls, best friends since childhood, reach 17 in 1962 in a soon-to-be-swinging London, but now a city in the grip of nuclear war threat, as the Cuban missile crisis reaches its height.

Sally Potter has the makings of an intriguing film here, as well as several American actors contributing commendably efficient English accents; but she has turned it into a snoozefest.

Despite the title, the scenario centres on Ginger (Fanning, whose fake auburn hair looks dyed), daughter of ex-painter Nat (Hendricks) and Bohemian activist Roland (Nivola), whose edgy relationship is about to result in separation.

The girls' experiments with smoking, boys and all that, are small beer when Rosa (Englert) embarks on a torrid affair with Roland that results in pregnancy. CND supporters Bening, Spall and Platt can only counsel ineffectually from the sides.

Dialogue, sparse at best, tends to the repetitive and ineffectual, and the drama is generally dull and, despite decent, if mannered performances from a cracking cast, less interesting than the director intends.

David Quinlan

UK 2012. UK Distributor: Artificial Eye. Cinecolor.
89 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 12A.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 1.

Review date: 15 Oct 2012