While it’s nothing new that our lives and personalities are shaped by the times around us, sometimes being truly objective about how you’ve been affected by cultural, social and political forces comes with a bit of distance. And that’s just one of the themes that Mike Mills explores in his upcoming “20th Century Women.”
“For this film and my last one a little bit, I’m really interested in how our emotional lives are sort of historical and influenced by the prevailing winds of whatever time we’re in, so the 1979, all the contents therein is kind of the 5th Beatle of the movie in a way,” he explained this month at the New York Film Festival. “And for me, it’s not just the punk scene or whatever was incorporated. It’s sort of like the 1979 emotional accuracy. What are the interior concerns? What are the thoughts and feelings and predilections that go on? That was really hard interesting to try and research and place — the interior part.”
READ MORE: 4 Quadrant Podcast Ep 4: Best Picture & ’20th Century Women’ With Kyle Buchanan
Starring Annette Bening, Greta Gerwig, Elle Fanning, Lucas Jade Zumann and Billy Crudup, the film tells the story of a single woman trying to figure out the best way to raise her teenage son. Here’s the official synopsis:
Set in Santa Barbara, the film follows Dorothea Fields (Annette Bening), a determined single mother in her mid-50s who is raising her adolescent son, Jamie (newcomer Lucas Jade Zumann, in a breakout performance) at a moment brimming with cultural change and rebellion. Dorothea enlists the help of two younger women in Jamie’s upbringing — via Abbie (Greta Gerwig), a free-spirited punk artist living as a boarder in the Fields’ home, and Julie (Elle Fanning), a savvy and provocative teenage neighbor.
20th Century Women is a poignant love letter to the people who raise us – and the times that form us – as this makeshift family forges fragile connections that will mystify and inspire them through their lives.
“20th Century Women” opens on Christmas Day.
