20th Century Women

Title: 20th Century Women
Rating: R
Runtime: 1hr & 58min

A Wonderful Slice of Life about Growing Up and Simply Living to the Fullest

Opening:
Going into this film, I was already excited because of A24’s involvement. They are one of my favorite companies to distribute some of the most memorable pieces of cinema in the past three years. I will say this film isn’t bad but not necessarily the best thing they have put out. I think it’s a solid addition to their catalog. Let’s get reel and break this down.

Plot:
The story of three women who explore love and freedom in Southern California during the late 1970s.

Directing/Writing

Pros:
Director Mike Mills takes us along a self-discovery journey following three women at different points in their life and trying to understand it. Love, purpose, and finding the joys in life play prominent throughout and it’s a story anyone can relate to. Also, adding two male characters, at different points too, just trying to make sense of it all. It can be soul crushing sometimes but also uplifting with glowing hope. The characters themselves are interesting and provide likeable personalities and slightly compelling emotional connections with their depth.

Cons:
The dialogue can be a bit on the nose sometimes but that’s not really a distraction for me. As much as I liked following these characters, I never felt like they explored them as much as they could. Yes, some backstory is provided but diving further into their characters and psyche lacked for me. Also, why wasn’t the kid in school as much? When you see the film you will know what I am talking about. Not a grade deduction or anything, just a noticeable thing.

Acting

Pros:
Can we just say that Annette Benning is a national treasure already? She is fantastic and can pull you into any movie with her presence alone. She provided the subtle dry humor while still having some scenes showing us why she is a good dramatic actress as well. Greta Gerwig plays a more subdued, broken character and really sells the vulnerability and then finds her stride in her character to become a bit more confident. Elle Fanning was also good portraying a teenager living life to its fullest and going through the trials of confusion when it comes to teenage angst and first love. Everyone else is a nice addition and propels these three characters.

Cons:
None.

Cinematography

Pros:
To be honest, besides the opening shot and vibrant colors from the set design and art direction, the cinematography is fine but nothing special.

Cons:
None.

Editing/Special Effects

Pros:
Since there is a lot of characters to explore, the time allotted for each are balanced out well and kept my interest to see what would happen.

Cons:
The nearly two hour runtime can feel a little sluggish.

Overall:
Nothing extraordinary but a solid drama with humorous moments that anyone can relate to and definitely adds a colorful palette being its story set in the late 70’s.

Grade: B
(Review by Chase Lee)