Set in the 1960s, Ginger & Rosa is a coming of age drama that intimately takes us to a formative period of time in the youthful lives of best friends Ginger (Elle Fanning)and Rosa (Alice Englert), during an era of global nuclear uncertainty and political change. Written and directed by Sally Potter (Yes, Orlando), and a remarkable cast including young Elle Fanning (Super 8, We Bought A Zoo), Alice Englert (Beautiful Creatures) and Christina Hendricks (Mad Men, Drive). Ginger & Rosa premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival 2012 (TIFF).

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Ginger is a politically passionate free thinker, obsessed with the nuclear missile crisis. Rosa is a dreamer, much less concerned with what Ginger perceives as their imminent death. Rosa’s attention is focused on finding true, lifelong, enduring love: the love that her mother was never able to find. The two young women, born on the same day in the same hospital, have been best friends since their mothers first met.

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Together they embark on ventures of self-discovery, asserting their independence with nights out drinking, attending anti-nuclear bomb meetings and participating in protest marches in the streets. However, their friendship is put to the test when Rosa’s quest for love collides with Ginger’s philandering father. Spoiler alert. As Ginger is forced to bear witness to her father’s infidelity with her best friend, she channels her emotional torment and anxiety in to political action.

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The film focuses on the social issues facing young women in the ‘60s. At the dawn of the human rights movement, young women are caught between a world where a woman’s value resides solely in her ability to keep a home and a husband, and the genesis of a broader scope of possibilities in both work and personal lives. Ginger and Rosa’s struggle to reconcile the dichotomy between the traditional and emerging roles for women is apparent. In Rosa it manifests as disrespect for her mother, who was unable to “keep a man”, and the importance Rosa places on finding love. For Ginger the struggle is with her father’s avant-garde ideas about freedom and her mother’s unhappiness with her role as homemaker.

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Elle Fanning’s performance as Ginger is impressive. The 15-year-old actress captures the emotional depth and complexity of her character adeptly. Her English accent is even reasonably convincing. Alice Englert (real life daughter of Jane Campion) delivers a convincing performance as Rosa, particularly the vulnerability and emotional neediness of the character. Strong performances are also delivered from Christina Hendricks as Ginger’s mother and Alessandro Nivola as Ginger’s Father.

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Ginger & Rosa is an interesting and relevant portrayal of the struggles of youth, well written, well directed and passionately acted.

-Astrid Handling