a 20TH CENTURY WOMEN musing

20TH CENTURY WOMEN bursts with humor, humanity and truth. It's now become one of my favorite movies, and it deals with a teenage boy, Jamie, (Lucas Jade Zumann) in 1979 Santa Barbara raised by his older-than-usual divorced mother (of which he's not shy letting other people know), wonderfully played by Annette Bening, who requests the help of her tenants (including characters played by Greta Gerwig, Elle Fanning and Billy Crudup) to help raise him at this crucial time in his life. This movie was written and directed by Mike Mills, who based it on his own experiences growing up, which explains why each character is so fleshed out and real. I didn't want the movie to end, I just wanted to spend so much more time with all these crazy, lovely people. All the conversations between them are so naturalistically written, all the characters so beautifully portrayed, and I'm sure we all have someone in our lives just like each one of them. And that is why I connected with 20TH CENTURY WOMEN so much: it's about these people attempting to understand other types of people, other types of spirits, other generations; it's about growing up and how different people can influence the rest of your life; and it is so joyously made. There isn't a weak link in the ensemble, I didn't feel a slog in the runtime, the sad and tragic moments that do happen are dealt with realistically with humor or further questions in search of a deeper truth, and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen nor laughing.

RATING: BEST OF THE BEST

(refer to my rating system here)