20th Century Women

          A semi-autobiographical comedy/drama by writer/director, Mike Mills, the film takes place in Santa Barbara California in 1979 and is basically about Mr. Mills (here called Jamie) and his unconventional mother, Dorothea, played by Annette Bening. It is an intimate portrait of an unusual nuclear family.

         15 year old Jamie lives with his divorced mother and two renters , William, played by Billy Crudup, a single Bohemian man earning his rent by renovating the house and Abbie, a 24 year old very complicated woman. Jamie's life is also heavily influenced by Julie, a 17 year old neighbor that frequently sneaks in to literally sleep over. Abbie, played by Greta Gerwig and Julie, played by Elle Fanning are both charged by Dorothea to help teach Jamie about life and love.

           Ms. Bening bares herself physically to play Dorothea and chain smokes her way through the film. It is a brave performance by a wonderful actress. Jamie is played by Lucas Jade Zumann, who has a fine career ahead of him should he continue to act. While all the acting is well done, the story drifts in and out of moments that ultimately add up to nothing. There are pearls of wisdom by various characters, heartbreak and love affecting everyone but it's all told in a dull flat tone that I found rather boring. Mr. Mills actually speeds up many scenes as if he too, realizes he needs to move things a long. I did enjoy the soundtrack though, very much.

          I suppose there are those who will find the story charming (it is, in a dull way) and enjoy it very much. Perhaps if Mr. Mills had given his script over to another director who could be more objective, it would have made for a much better film but alas, that was not to be.