20TH CENTURY WOMEN REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

20th Century Women is the latest offering from director Mike Mills whose previous feature, Beginners, centered round a son and his father, who had recently come out as gay. It received critical acclaim and veteran actor, Christopher Plummer, his first Academy Award for his supporting performance. The story was based on Mills' personal life as his father revealed his homosexuality despite being married to his mother for 44 years. 20th Century Women is similar to Beginners as they're both a combination of drama and comedy and are both based on Mills' personal life.

During the summer of 1979, a Santa Barbara single mom and boardinghouse landlord, Dorothea Fields (Annette Bening) decides the best way she can parent her teenage son, Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann), is to enlist her young tenants - a quirky punk photographer, Abbie Porter (Greta Gerwig), a mellow handyman, William (Billy Crudup) and her son's shrewd best friend, Julie Hamlin (Elle Fanning) - to serve as role models in a changing world.

Mills has admitted to taking inspiration from his mother and sister for the characters of Dorothea and Abbie stating: 'It felt like I was raised by my mom and sisters, so I was always appealing to women in the punk scene or women in my world. I always leaned to them to figure out my life as a straight white guy. So I wanted to make a movie about that'. It's a method that works as we know how much he cares about this film and how much it means to him. 

Annette Bening further proves why she's one of the most versatile actresses working today by giving another Oscar-worthy performance. Despite being nominated four times, she is yet to win. Unfortunately this year, she missed out on earning a nomination. It's arguably her best performance since 2010's The Kids Are All Right where she portrayed a gay mother of two. In 20th Century Women, we see how desperately she wants to be able to understand her son and wants to raise him properly but she doesn't know how. A lot of parents will be able to be empathetic towards her and her situation. This film gives her a too-rare opportunity to shine in a leading role and she succeeds.

In his breakthrough performance, Zumann gives a relatable portrayal of a boy who is coming-of-age. In this film, we see him smoke, drink and is taught how to seduce women at a bar. It's a performance he can be proud of and is sure to gain him recognition.

Being related to someone already well-known in Hollywood can be daunting and can lead to high expectations. For Elle Fanning, however, she has made a name for herself and I doubt many people will compare her to her older sister, Dakota. She gives a refreshing portrayal of Julie whose friendship with Jamie is purely platonic. With him being a virgin and her sleeping around, Julie gives Jamie advice on how to pleasure a woman. Fanning is one of the most talented actresses working today and, judging from her performance here, I can only predict success for her.

Greta Gerwig was previously seen in the Oscar-nominated film, Jackie, as Nancy Tukerman who was Jackie Kennedy's social secretary and confidante. That performance combined with her supporting role here as Abbie should definitely gain her more recognition. When the film begins, she is in the middle of treatment for cervical cancer. However, despite this illness, she makes the most of her life and takes various photos on her camera whilst listening to pop-punk music. She has a quirky personality and during a dining scene announces that she's menstruating and tries to get everyone sitting around the table to say it, much to Dorothea's disgust. 

Like Gerwig, Billy Crudup also made an appearance in Jackie as the journalist interviewing the famous First Lady. Because Mills' film focuses on the women in Jamie's life, we don't see much of his character, William, however, he gives another solid performance. 

There is no plot to speak of as 20th Century Women is a character study and, over the course of the 118 minute runtime, we see Jamie learn new things and have his first experiences, including his first smoke where Julie teaches him how to walk like a cool guy with a cigarette in his hand. Abbie takes him out and shows him how to seduce women in a bar. Near the beginning of the film, Julie asks Dorothea 'Don't you need a man to raise a man?' and the film answers that and states that no, a man doesn't need to be raised by another man. Women can raise a boy to become a man. At time of writing this, Mills is nominated for an Academy Award for 'Best Writing, Original Screenplay' and one can only hope that he will win. He has written a script that is heartbreaking and, at times, funny.

This film will definitely appeal to those who grew up in the 1970's and they'll, no doubt, have that feeling of nostalgia. For me being born in the late 1990's. I love watching films set in the past as it gives me an idea of what that era was like. The fashion, music and setting all feel like the 1970s. In one scene, the characters all watch former President Jimmy Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech.

20th Century Women is one of those rare dramas that is enjoyable to watch. The combination of drama and comedy works really well and it marks another assured step forward for Mills. This film is worth watching for the performances alone, especially Bening's. 

7/10