Movie Review - 20th Century Women

20th Century Women (2016)

Starring Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Lucas Jade Zumann, and Billy Crudup 

Directed by Mike Mills

***This films currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

Santa Barbara.  1979.  Fifteen year-old Jamie Fields (Lucas Jade Zumann) is in that awkward stage of a teenage boy's life where he's becoming more sexually cognizant of his surroundings, but he lacks a male role model to go to with any questions he may have.  He lives with his well-meaning mother Dorothea (Annette Bening) who rents out two rooms in her house to a twentysomething cancer survivor/budding photographer named Abbie (Greta Gerwig) and a fortysomething hippie carpenter/mechanic William (Billy Crudup) whose spare time is spent practicing yoga and other Zen-like things.  While Dorothea is a liberal, open-minded woman, she finds William a bit of a kook, so she asks Jamie's best friend, the sexually free Julie (Elle Fanning), and her boarder Abbie to help her help Jamie through these difficult stages of his pubescent years.

On the surface, 20th Century Women doesn't seem like much, but thanks to a rather brilliant ensemble of actors and a quick-witted and sharp script that creates characters and situations that feel legitimate and fully realized, the film by writer-director Mike Mills is one of the best of 2016.  At its heart is Annette Bening whose Dorothea could so easily have been turned into the "flower power"-type stereotypical California liberal, but instead is a wonderful balance between that laid-back West Coast demeanor mixed with a headstrong mother who wants the best for her son.  Bening deftly balances the humor and pathos necessary for her character and shines.  The rest of the ensemble also makes the most of Mills' screenplay by crafting likable, though flawed, characters who never once feel like caricatures.

While this review may be on the shorter side, don't mistake its brevity for a lack of appreciation for this fine film.  Seek out 20th Century Women as I don't think you'll regret the decision.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+