Ginger & Rosa *** (PG-13) This coming-of-age drama focuses on a pair of 17-year-old British girls who’ve been lifelong best friends. But in 1962, a rift starts to form. Ginger (Elle Fanning) is the relatively naive and bookish one, riveted by the looming threat of nuclear annihilation, heightened by the Cuban Missile Crisis. Rosa (Alice Englert) gravitates to the wild side, mixing a thirst for adventure with an overlay of romanticism. Ginger’s parents (Alessandro Nivola, Christina Hendricks) are having problems, as her pre-Hippie professor dad finds growing disdain for his stay-at-home wife. They have a handful of interesting friends (Timothy Spall, Oliver Platt, Annette Bening) who add to the intellectual side of the proceedings, along with some efforts at supplemental parenting.
The film belongs to Ginger. It’s all about how she will deal with her growing fatalism, her parents’ conflicts and some disturbing developments with Rosa, as her lifelong anchor becomes another source of angst. Sally Potter’s script presents appealing and possibly intriguing characters, but fails to utilize their potential. Fanning again shows herself to be the Thespian equal of big sister Dakota, often conveying more with facial expressions and body language than with the words written for Ginger. That level of mastery in the subtleties of acting is especially remarkable for one who won’t even turn 15 until next month. But the film’s personal and cultural themes have been explored many times before. In both respects, the story arcs and outcomes fall short of satisfying the heart or the mind, or serving the talents of the assembled cast. (3/29/13)