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Looking back, the 1970s were one of those moments of convergence that laid the foundations for our current society. As boomers came of age and the Gen Xers hit puberty, the forces of culture created a whirlpool of ideas and isms, good and bad, that set the stage for so much of what we, today, think of as standard. Like all standards, there was a time when they were the outliers.
It stands to reason that we’re currently amidst another of these cultural whirlpools right now. The boomers are nearing the end of their lives, the Gen Xers have become the establishment, and millennials are now leading the charge for change—regardless of what that change might eventually be. It’s difficult not to see correlations between then and now, as the seas begin to change and the old ways begin their death rages. Perhaps that why 20th Century Women rings with so much resonance.
Writer/director Mike Mills captures all the angst of an era, distilling it down to a personal level to allow it to shine most clearly, and, in a way, providing us a light to get through our own troubled waters. It’s a movie about sea changes and big ideas, presented on a micro level for better clarity. Bold, beautiful, and stunning, 20th Century Women feels like the perfect cap to the cinematic year.
Annette Bening stars as Dorothea, an aging single mom struggling to find footing in a world that’s changing while raising her son Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann) absent any help from his father. Searching for help to mold him into a good man, Dorothea enlists the guidance of her tenants Abbie (Greta Gerwig) and William (Billy Crudup) and Jamie’s friend Julie (Elle Fanning) in order to teach him the ways of a world she no longer understands.
Bening, Gerwig, and Fanning are the titular women of 20th Century Women, becoming focal points for the fluctuating stature of women on the cusp of the 80s. Dorothea, her eternal optimism a vestige of her generation, Abbie, a free-spirited artist and punk, and Julie, deep in Gen X nihilism, come to represent the changing tides of status quo as the generational shifts begin to hit the shores.
As a trio, the three shine as bright as any stars and carry the bulk of the film’s emotional weight. Bening seems a shoe-in for Oscar contingency, and longtime indie darling Gerwig has officially skyrocketed into the mainstream with her performance here. Their intense relatability as characters anchors the film, lending it an emotional power that’s equally enthralling and heartwarming.
Zumann, too, offers a relatable in to the story. His disaffected Jamie serves both as a stand in for the audience’s own adolescence and as a symbol of the changing of the guard. His world is not the same world his mother grew up in, and the waters he navigates are entirely uncharted, from a cultural stand point. In much the same way that millennials today and boomers can’t seem to find any common ground on which to stand, so too do Jamie and his mother.
It’s a perfect reflection of our times, and of the everchanging tides of generations. Mills’ heartfelt script underscores the generational strife of his day in a way that’s accessible to today’s audiences, and also reminds us that it’s rarely an insurmountable problem. The gaps between us may be distant, but the stepping stones that bridge us are always nearby. This is important to remember as we move forward into the 21st century.
That’s the real beauty of 20th Century Women. It serves as a reminder that times may change, but experiences stay the same. Filtered through the micro as it is, it magnifies the push-pull of generational change into the macro, creating a stunning look at cultural change that will resonate across generations.
20th Century Women is now playing in limited release and opens wide on January 20.
