20th Century Women (2016)

20th Century Women is a beautifully disjointed love letter from a son to his mother and the women who raised him. This semi-autobiobraphic film is drawn more as remembrances than memoir, like pieces of moments, milestones, depicted more as how things felt then how they were. And it's all the more touching for it.

Writer/director Mike Mills' portrait of his teenage years sometimes feels a bit lost. While this may keep it from being great, it is, in many ways, appropriate and completely natural for this story. So while it lost me occasionally, it always found a way to make me smile.

The film is a bit rose-coloured in how it avoids seriousness ever getting us too down. But again, this is consistent with the film's "love-letter" tone. It makes us yearn a bit, despite not glorifying anything, for a different time, a different failed optimism. What I found so lovely about 20th Century Women is how it both made me melancholy and nostalgic at the same time. It's an incredible effect.

A big part of this success is the performance by Annette Benning who almost always captivates me each time she is on screen. Once again she shows us that the Oscars have no idea what they are doing until she gets one.

20th Century Women is a slightly flawed but completely forgivable film that creates a lovely set of mixed emotions and is a showcase for one of the best working actors around.

20th Century Women
Starring; Annette Benning, Lucas Jade Zumann, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup
Writer/Director: Mike Mills