That's the theory guiding Dorothea's (Annette Bening's) actions in Mike Mills' 20th Century Women. It's not a flawed theory on paper. She is trying to raise her 15 year old son, Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann), after his father moved away following the divorce. Dorothea's attempts to bring men into Jamie's life, such as William (Billy Crudup), who rents a room in their house, hasn't done much good, so she calls for two other women in his life to help him figure out how to become a man. The first is Abbie (Greta Gerwig), a hip, punk-loving 20-something who also rents a room in the house. The second is Julie (Elle Fanning), Jamie's 17-year-old best friend, who he is in love with but doesn't return those kinds of feelings for him.
That's about it as far as the plot goes. It's a case of the trailer* not hiding anything. 20th Century Women covers a single summer (or some time of year when no one seems to have to work or go to school). It's a snapshot of the lives of this handful of people, leaving little mystery to what has and will happen to them. It's one of those movies that puts a lot of people with baggage in the same place sees how they bounce off one another. Jamie is trying to become a man. Dorothea is trying to reintroduce herself to a world she's never really understood. Julie is rebelling, although she doesn't seem to know why or what against. Abbie is forced to reevaluate her life and doesn't know if she likes the new equation. It's not quite "drama of misery" (See: This is Where I Leave You), but it's a distant cousin to it. The big moments in the film are conversations, not actions.
*Sidenote: I've managed to see this trailer before so many movies that I could quote almost all the big moments. There's no reason why I should've needed to see that trailer so often.
The way the film is structured is interesting. There's almost a stream of consciousness to it (a little like The Tree of Life). The story is broken up into chapters or stanzas. Dorothea or Jamie give a voiceover narration focusing on a specific character. They will explain where that person came from, how they grew up, or, eventually, what their future holds. Often, during these voiceovers, shots are sped up, like they are making a point to show that the story isn't fixed on a single moment in time. Like it's telling the story of these peoples' lives through moments.
This film is filled with strong performances. I won't say Annette Bening makes is look easy. Her best moments aren't big moments though. It's not a performance that demands your attention but, instead, earns it. Elle Fanning has been around for longer than I realized (Her IMDB starts when she was 3 and hasn't had a year gap since). In the last year or two, she's really started to shine. Between this and The Neon Demon, she's dropped the "precocious" label that Dakota always had trouble with. Gerwig is playing a lead character in a supporting role. I could absolutely see her character as the center of a very good movie, and she's just one of many in this. Crudup seems like he's in a completely different movie, but in a good way. It's like he just happened to be there already when they started filming, so they decided to keep him around. Zumann, the nominal lead or co-lead, doesn't stand out as much as I'd like. He's technically the center of the movie. But, he's the object in every sentence, not the subject. The story happens to him. Some of that is intended and some of it is because the rest of the cast is so good that he has to defer to them.
20th Century Women is movie that engaged me more in moments than overall. Aspects like the performances, direction, and music I really liked. As a whole, it doesn't quite come together. It's a little too academic. Mike Mills knows what he's doing and proves that here. If you like any of the actors, there's enough to make the movie worth seeing. Same thing for it you are a fan of Mills' direction/writing. It's an accomplished movie, not a great movie.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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