20th Century Women (2016)

The story of a teenage boy, his mother, and two other women who help raise him among the love and freedom of Southern California of 1979.

Director:

Mike Mills

Writer:

Mike Mills

Stars:

Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 69 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Annette Bening	...	Dorothea Fields
Elle Fanning	...	Julie
Greta Gerwig	...	Abbie
Billy Crudup	...	William
Lucas Jade Zumann	...	Jamie
Alison Elliott	...	Mrs. Hamlin - Julie's Mother
Thea Gill	...	Gail - Abbie's Mother
Vitaly Andrew LeBeau	...	Young Jamie (as Vitaly A. Lebeau)
Olivia Hone	...	Julie's Sister
Waleed Zuaiter	...	Charlie
Curran Walters	...	Matt
Darrell Britt-Gibson	...	Julian
Alia Shawkat	...	Trish
Nathalie Love	...	Cindy
Cameron Protzman	...	Teen in Therapy

Storyline

Love, life, and the struggles of a mother bringing up a son in the the late 70's. The ignorance of a free spirit against the needs of a young man trying to find his true character and beliefs. Living in a bohemian household shared with 3 like minded spirited people to help pay the rent, his mother tries to establish bonds that he cannot deal with. She cannot deal with his inability to talk, and enlists the help of other females in his life to share the burden of his upbringing. Slowly life unravels for them all without understanding how. In spite of their perceived struggles, they all go on to live defined lives without any serious consequences.

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Plot Keywords:

feminist | feminism | parenting | mother son relationship | teenage boy | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual material, language, some nudity and brief drug use

Details

Official Sites:

A24 Films Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Twentieth Century Women

Filming Locations:

East Beach, Santa Barbara, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$111,200, 1 January 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,663,855, 28 April 2017

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,757,620, 21 March 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

A24,Annapurna Pictures,Modern People

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (archive footage)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

French visa # 146164.

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Goofs

When Dorothea and William dance to music by the Talking Heads, William places the tonearm's needle on the first track, but the song that plays, "The Big Country", is actually the last track on the album shown, "More Songs About Buildings and Food".

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Quotes

Dorothea: He could write with his left hand and scratch my back with his right.
William: And that's it?
Dorothea: I love that.

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Connections

Featured in The 74th Golden Globe Awards (2017)

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Soundtracks

DJ (1999 Remastered Version)
Written by David Bowie, Brian Eno, Carlos Alomar
Performed by David Bowie

User Reviews

Duller than paint drying

Obviously there are two versions of this film in theaters. The one I saw was unbearably slow, boring, badly acted, horribly edited and scored. If someone put a gun to my head and told me to sit through this again, I'd take the bullet and end my misery quicker. Letting Annette Benning look dowdy and her age apparently is being mistaken for acting, while the rest of the cast, all good actors, are left to wander without benefit of dialogue or plot. There seems to be a stab at defining feminism in the 1970s, but good luck if you can figure out the point. The owner of my local theater told me that they were yanking this dog as soon as they contractually could, noting "the managers of the chain should have known better."