Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Annette Bening Brings Warmth And Grace To '20th Century Women'

Despite featuring Jimmy Carter's perilous speech on the "Crisis of Confidence," the mood and energy of 20th Century Women flows with vibrant tranquility. The film opens on a top down shot of vivid blue-green waves crashing on the Santa Barbara shoreline, with Roger Neill's synthesized score setting a calming atmosphere. That mood continues into the next shot: a burning car in a grocery store parking lot. The owner of it, Dorothea (Annette Bening), does not seem particularly alarmed by this development as much as her teenage son Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann). Her perspective reflects the film's general outlook, as characters accept the world as opposed to change it.
After making a semi-autobiographical film about his father with Beginners, writer-director Mike Mills returns to make a film about his mother. Set in 1979, 20th Century Women is perhaps equally "cute," relying on a set of slideshow montages, VHS-style smearing, and competing voiceovers that continually expand the film's scope. But Mills demonstrates a patience in veering such material back toward reality; scenes expand longer than one might think, allowing his characters to actually digest the world they inhabit. That glowing warmness of the film makes this poignant coming-of-age tale feel not just extremely specific but also critiques how these stories are usually framed. Here is a story that features five characters, each from a particularly well-known generational identity, yet they remain unsure whether that truly defines them.
The dilapidated yet comforting house in Santa Barbara becomes the center of the story, as Dorothea realizes that as a single mother, she alone cannot raise her son into the strong man she hopes. Instead, she turns to two women in her life: their housemate Abbie (Greta Gerwig), a sometimes-photographer sporting a bright red bob of hair, a punk attitude, and a collection of key second-wave feminist texts; and Julie (Elle Fanning), a young sexually-active adolescent who continually friendzones Jamie despite sleeping in his bed. They also employ their other house guest, William (Billy Crudup), a former commune hippie turned mechanic.

Annette Bening, Elle Fanning and Greta Gerwig in '20th Century Women' (Photo by Merrick Morton, courtesy of A24)
If all these stories sound like usual clichés of generational stories, what remains surprising is how easily Mills elides falling into these traps by allowing his performers to drive the flow of each scene. Bening has been considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation, but the continual Oscar talk around each performance has, in a way, stunted us from actually discussing the nuances of her technique. With a warm smile and a casual pause at every line, Bening distills her role as a liberal-but-not-quite-leftist mother with warm grace. Her quiet face with seemingly inexpressive eyes remains calm and collected, but her smoking habit and the nervous tics of how she holds her cigarettes reveal a woman often on the verge of an existential breakdown. Plus, she dances to The Talking Heads. Gerwig, coming off her blisteringly great performance in Mistress America, matches Bening with exuberance and spirit. Her ability to articulate her own inarticulateness with a vibrant energy flowing throughout her body defines a woman who never comes off as the apparent cliché her hair might suggest.
Like Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice, 20th Century Women captures an energy that balances post-60s paranoia with a relaxed Southern California atmosphere—here, the beach vibes win over, even with the horrors of the 1980s on the precipice. Mills suggests that these characters will endure and find their own personal happiness (in that special bubble that Southern California can provide). The film reminds us that within the larger chaos of shifting tastes in politics, culture, music, and more, our lives are still built by the people who make up the immediate world around us. In a film that could have been filled with self-importance, Mills' gentleness to his generational story is a welcome surprise.
20th Century Women opens today in New York and Los Angeles.
Peter Labuza is a freelance film critic, whose work has appeared in Variety, Sight & Sound, and The A.V. Club. Follow him on Twitter.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?