“20TH CENTURY WOMEN”
Written by Mike Mills
Directed by: Mike Mills
Screenplay by: Mike Mills
Cinematography by: Sean Porter
Music by: Roger Neill
Production Company: Annapurna Pictures
Distributed by: A24
Release Date: December 28, 2016
Budget: $7 million
FILM SYNOPSIS: Teenager Jamie lives with his nonconformist mother Dorothea in Santa Barbara, California. In 1979, the other women in his life are Abbie, a boarder in their home, and Julie, his best friend. Dorothea and Jamie have a complicated bond, with Dorothea struggling to remain preeminent in her son’s life while also giving him the freedom to grow.
What’s its competition? Not nearly as good as his first film, “Beginners,” which won Christopher Plummer his record-breaking first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, Mike Mills delivers a decent era film with his distinct style to it. Although many believe Annette Bening may receive a Best Leading Actress nomination, I don’t believe she blew me away to the point of deserving one and there are no ladies, besides maybe Meryl Streep that I would be willing to part with in that category to make room for her. What the film does get a nomination for is Original Screenplay, which director Mike Mills wrote. I believe his attention to detail and literally fleshing out the characters from birth to death is what garnered this nomination. That and Mike’s ability to almost scrapbook the era that he’s partaking in. For once we get a coming of age story where a mother lets her son be as free as he needs to be. None of the writing is absolutely mind-blowing, and I feel like that is probably a sign that it has no chance of winning. “Hell Or High Water,” “La La Land,” and “Manchester By The Sea” all have corresponding Best Picture nominations, leaning the win in their favor. “La La Land” is the front-runner in many categories including this one, so it seems like an absolute that “20th Century Women” has much too far to climb to actually win.
Previous nominations? This is the first Academy Award nomination for Mike Mills.
// Produced by Anne Carey, Megan Ellison, and Youree Henley // Directed by Mike Mills //
// Dated Viewed: Sunday, February 12th, 2017 // STREAMING // 31 films – 15 days //
