20th Century Women
In 1979, Dorothea Fields (Annette Benning) lives in Santa Barbara
with her 15 year old son Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann). After a horseplay
incident nearly kills him, Dorothea is concerned about her son's
direction and enlists the help of her tenant Abigail Porter (Greta
Gerwig) and his friend Julie (Elle Fanning) to help him become "a good
man".
It's an odd premise and one that Jamie treats with the derision that it probably deserves. I have thought a lot about this movie since I've seen it. It makes a lot of sensitive and intelligent points about feminism and female sexuality, with frequent quotations from prominent feminist authors of the age. The four lead actors plus Billy Krudup all do good work. Benning is believable as a mid fifties mother worried for her offspring and reflecting back on her life choices.
Greta Gerwig is getting increasingly typecast as a kooky, hipster type, here insisting on taking photographs of all her possessions amongst other things, but it's a role that suits her. She has a number of fun scenes in the film including introducing Jamie to Talking Heads (amusingly described as "ART FAGS" in graffiti by some dissenting Black Flag fans) and insisting an entire dinner party repeat the word "menstruation". Fanning does her best with a role that's limited in scope rather than screen time, predominantly existing as Jamie's oblivious love interest.
I'm picking out individual moments here because the film never really gains any narrative momentum. It's a movie where characters habitually start conversations with questions like "Are you lonely?". It's not exactly uncommon in cinema but I would have preferred dialogue that was a touch more naturalistic.
The film's concluding message that sons and daughters are ultimately unknowable to their fathers and mothers and visa versa is a strong one but it's overshadowed by a truly muddled ending. There are individual pleasures to be had in 20th Century Women but the film struggles to coalesce into a meaningful whole.
It's an odd premise and one that Jamie treats with the derision that it probably deserves. I have thought a lot about this movie since I've seen it. It makes a lot of sensitive and intelligent points about feminism and female sexuality, with frequent quotations from prominent feminist authors of the age. The four lead actors plus Billy Krudup all do good work. Benning is believable as a mid fifties mother worried for her offspring and reflecting back on her life choices.
Greta Gerwig is getting increasingly typecast as a kooky, hipster type, here insisting on taking photographs of all her possessions amongst other things, but it's a role that suits her. She has a number of fun scenes in the film including introducing Jamie to Talking Heads (amusingly described as "ART FAGS" in graffiti by some dissenting Black Flag fans) and insisting an entire dinner party repeat the word "menstruation". Fanning does her best with a role that's limited in scope rather than screen time, predominantly existing as Jamie's oblivious love interest.
I'm picking out individual moments here because the film never really gains any narrative momentum. It's a movie where characters habitually start conversations with questions like "Are you lonely?". It's not exactly uncommon in cinema but I would have preferred dialogue that was a touch more naturalistic.
The film's concluding message that sons and daughters are ultimately unknowable to their fathers and mothers and visa versa is a strong one but it's overshadowed by a truly muddled ending. There are individual pleasures to be had in 20th Century Women but the film struggles to coalesce into a meaningful whole.
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