Director: Mike Mills
Writer: Mike Mills (Screenplay)
Starring: Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, Lucas Jade Zumann, Alison Elliott
Plot: The story of a teenage boy, his mother, and two other women who help raise him among the love and freedom of Southern California of 1979.
Runtime: 1 Hour 59 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Life Can Change For Everyone
Story: 20th Century Women starts with Dorothea Fields (Bening) with her son Jamie (Zumann) witnessing their car on fire, Dorothea lives with Abbie (Gerwig) and Julie (Fanning) during the late 70s, in a world where a divorced single middle-age woman isn’t seen in the same way as now.
Dorothea starts seeing a change in Jamie and turns to the ladies in house to help raise Jamie, using their experiences in life to help guide him, trying to prove that you don’t need a man to raise a man.
Thoughts on 20th Century Women
Characters – Dorothea is a divorced middle-aged woman raising a teenager son with two other women renting rooms in her house and starts to see a changes in her son, she turns to her women to help teach him, trying not to make it an issue that she doesn’t have a man around the house. Julie is the 17-year-old friend of the family that has grown up with Jamie, she is older and is acting out against her mother, with her own problems, never wanting to be more than a friend with Jamie. Abbie is the lady renting the room in the house, she as lived a free style life even if she has been held back by her own medical battles. Jamie is the teenage son that ends up starting to rebel against his mother, he is still open to discussions, though he does start to learn more about the world through the ladies in the house, he is learning to become smarter when it comes to preparing for life.
Performances – Annette Bening is wonderful in the leading role, she proves that at this stage of her career, she is arguable the best of her age group too. Elle Fanning continues to show she is going to be a force in the acting world for years to come, while Greta Gerwig is strong with her down to Earth character. Lucas Jade Zumann is also strong for being the least experienced in the film, showing the kinder side to his character.
Story – The story here follows a single mother trying to raise her son with two other women around his life, she has broken certain trends for the time, which has reflected onto her son, which would make him a better man for the future world, with equal opportunities for all. This story does show how important the change in how women would be seen in life and one of the best ways to show and create an equal minded man, would be to raise him to be one, we do get to see how people need to learn to open up about everyday issues people will go through in life and how confusing it could be for somebody new to this moment in life. We get to see how life and experience can be seen in a very different light.
Comedy – The comedy side of the film is told in a light hearted manner when it comes serious issues being discussed.
Settings – The film is set in a normal town, which does show us just how behind each door, there could be a different story to what you would be expecting to see.
Scene of the Movie – The drunk talk.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The stopping of the story to rewind on a back story.
Final Thoughts – This is an insightful look at how life changed views on how people look at the world, how it can be taught, though both sides need to learn the change is happening.
Overall: Life Changes Through Many Eyes.
