20th Century Women (2016)

hyped garbage

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The acting in this movie is really good.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

It's 1979 Santa Barbara, California. Dorothea Fields (Annette Bening) is a progressive divorcée raising her fifteen year old son Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann). They have taken in two boarders. Abbie Porter (Greta Gerwig) is a photographer getting treated for cervical cancer and William (Billy Crudup) is a handyman who is refurbishing the house. Julie (Elle Fanning) is Jamie's best friend but she insists on being just friends.This is a cross between 'Dazed and Confused' and 'Koyaanisqatsi'. It starts slowly. There isn't much of a plot to drive the film. The five main characters is played brilliantly by these compelling actors. Bening gets most of the acclaim but everybody deserves some praise. The kid is solid. Gerwig and Crudup do their usual good work. Fanning is stretching out into a more adult role. Writer/director Mike Mills is building a nice resume. The movie slowly builds into a sad, poignant life story. One does feel like Dorothea as the only one who finds the beauty in Jimmy Carter's 'Crisis of Confidence' speech. I suggest sticking with it and get to know these characters.

I found this movie on Netflix streaming movies. I have been a fan of Bening's for a long time, her performances made movies like 'American President', 'American Beauty', and 'The Kids are All Right.' In this movie she is 55-yr-old Dorothea Fields, living in Southern California in 1979. She has a 15-yr-old son, Lucas Jade Zumann as Jamie, she is concerned that she may be too out of touch with the modern world to raise him adequately so she enlists the help to two women.One is Elle Fanning as 17-yr-old neighbor Julie, the other is 30- something Greta Gerwig as Abbie Porter, aspiring professional photography boarding with Dorothea and Lamie. Plus there is Billy Crudup as handyman William, working to renovate their old house, also boarding there.The movie is well-written and well-acted. We enjoyed it.

Writer-Director Mike Mills has crafted yet another genuine personal story to the screen in "20th Century Women". Mills who directed "Beginners" about his relationship with his gay father, now turns to women; one specifically being his mom. The film is set in 1979. Annette Benign stars as Dorothea Fields, a free-thinking single mother of a 15-year-old teen named Jamie. Dorothea is having a bit of a rocky time in raising Jamie, so he asks her bohemian punky tenant Abbie and Jamie's childhood female friend Julie to help raise Jamie. So oh oh oh Jamie's crying!! Sorry Van Halen. Actually, Jamie is not crying so much and takes the opportunity to reinvent himself and be more risqué in his choices; so it eventually becomes a Jamie "coming of age" experience. Mills' personal touch on his direction and scribe of the film was tender but a few times it did its bit of dragging; but not enough to hurt the film's overall narrative. Bening was sensational as Dorothea. Elle Fanning continues her hot young streak with a crafty performance as Julie. Billy Crudup was solid as Dorothea's male tenant William. But the 20th century woman which was the great thespian queen of the bunch was Greta Gerwig for her standout performance as Abbie. So go and hit on those "20th Century Women". **** Good

The most significant aspect about this movie is that the main character (the kid) is in the middle of the story but also is not. It is more about the influence of other people on him then growing up. His education in different ways is the most interesting idea of the writers. Both Elle Fanning and Greta Gerwig are well written characters and add an new layer to the movie (esp. in the middle part and towards the end). Annette Bening as mother is also well performed and illustrates a contrast to the other two women although she is also busy with raising her child.The movie has a nice atmosphere, good dialogue (esp. when talking about the life) and convinces with mostly interesting characters and an all in all worthwhile story.In contrary the movie is quite wordy in the first part and the story is well written but sometimes to monotonous. I also think that they could've gone more in debt with the character development esp. of the kid's character.So should you see it? Yes! If you want to watch a soft drama about life and growing up you won't be disappointed. With some vivid scenes and the life itself as an overall topic the movie masters to create an optimistic atmosphere. If this isn't your style you should probably leave this one out.