20th Century Women (2016) - 7/10

 I'm starting to really enjoy just using a randomizer to pick my movies for me. 20th Century Women is a film that, despite being on my watchlist, would have likely kept getting relegated to the back-burner simply for not seeming like 'my type of movie'. In some respects, I was right in some of my biases. TCW is not going in my top films of all time. But, I did enjoy watching this charming offering from Annapurna and A24. So lets get on with it,

1. Acting

This is very much a character driven film and needed to bring solid acting if it was going to work in any substantial way. In that respect, TCW definitely succeeds. Its 5 core characters played by Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup and Lucas Zumann are all realized in lovely ways and are given moments to shine in both comedic and dramatic fashions. Each character feels authentic and complex and it is fun watching them all interact and see where things go. 

Annette Bening, however, leads the charge as Dorothea Fields. She plays a mother struggling to connect and raise her son Jamie alone and enlists the help of the rest of the leads to do so. Annette plays Dorothea with such refinement that character and actor feel indistinguishable. I think she was incredible. 

2. Cinematography

The tone of the script is generally very light and playful and this is matched wonderfully with the vibrancy of the shots. The camera moves, framing and blocking are really nicely executed for a simple movie. It plays along with the comedic moments and uses nice static closeups to highlight the more emotional beats.

3. Production/Costume Design

Without knowing a lot about Central California in the 70s, the costuming feels accurate for the timeline involved and even at times felt simultaneously vintage and modern. 

Yet, most of my praise for the production team comes from the set. The historical home that houses all of the characters and most of the plot is warm, inviting, and my favorite part - under construction. Each character in the script is going through some kind of emotional turning point and the house being under constant construction is a nice little parallel to that theme.

4. Writing

Writer/Director Mike Mills developed the movie as a loose adaptation of his own life and the several women that helped raise him. It also overlaps with his love for the growing punk rock scene and its influence on him. 

The script is heavy on character and mostly light on plot. The story is mostly small vignettes of that characters relationships with each other and with themselves. Each struggles with believable self-doubts and trauma and helps prove the coming-of-age movies do not have to just be about teenagers in high school. 

One aspect I really enjoyed about the script was that it was mostly a linear structure, but would have moments of reflection on what has happened to the characters both in their past and in their futures. The narration during these segments and the accompanying montages of stills and footage were these great little insights into the minds of the characters and felt like a more enjoyable way to introduce exposition or having characters just flat out say what they are feeling (which usually drives me crazy). As a side note, it was funny that Billy Crudup was in the movie since a lot of the vignettes reminded me a lot of Mr. Manhattan's flashbacks and voiceovers from Watchmen.

5. Sound Design

This film has a very cool little soundtrack to it. It is a fun mix of classical 1950-1960s pop/jazz butting up against late 70s, early 80s underground punk rock. The dichotomy of the two intentionally mirroring the differences between the older and younger generations of the characters in the film.

6. Editing

 The film clocks in just under two hours and the edit does well to keep a light and quick pace through most scenes. The integration of subtle VFX, the soundtrack and the flashback vignettes were all done so well.

7. Visual Effects

On a small $7 million budget, there really isn't much VFX, nor any real need for it. The flashiest the film seems to get is using LSD style overlays during scenes to imply drug use. It added a simple but effective flair.

8. Originality or Strength of Adaptation

TWC rightfully earned Mills a nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars. Coming-of-age is an old tale, but its characters, setting and timeframe all coming together feels very unique.

9. Stunt Coordination

Nothing really to note here. 

10. Direction

Charming, engaging and well executed; TWC is yet another feather in the cap for Mill's growing filmography.

Legacy/Final Thoughts

TWC managed to barely make back its budget, but was a popular and well received original story that helps continue Annapurna and A24 reputation as studios willing to bet on strong independent films. This was also another successful outing for Mills who is quickly building a great library of small films to go enjoy. Ultimately though, this film will sit in a crowded room of lovely independent films that get overlooked. I hope that streaming will help keep movies like this alive, but fear they get so preoccupied promoting their 'next big thing' that they'll forget to promote movies like this that just sit in their digital library until the license moves on to the next streamer. That is too depressing of a note to end on... You should watch this movie and enjoy the wonderful cast doing great work!