20th Century Women

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2:13

20th Century Women

R

2017

1h 58m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

229 Reviews

74%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

In 1979 Santa Barbara, Calif., Dorothea Fields is a determined single mother in her mid-50s who is raising her adolescent son, Jamie, at a moment brimming with cultural change and rebellion. Dorothea enlists the help of two younger women -- Abbie, a free-spirited punk artist living as a boarder in the Fields' home and Julie, a savvy and provocative teenage neighbor -- to help with Jamie's upbringing.

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Critics Consensus

20th Century Women offers Annette Bening a too-rare opportunity to shine in a leading role -- and marks another assured step forward for writer-director Mike Mills.

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Jess Kibler

Bitch Media

Feb 17, 2021

The film feels brilliantly both of another time and of our own.

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David Stratton

The Australian

Jun 2, 2017

3.5/5

Mills is clearly fond of all these characters, and is happy to dwell on their moments of happiness and sadness, all of which provide knowledge and worldly wisdom to the teenage boy whose life they will so profoundly affect.

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Sandra Hall

Sydney Morning Herald

May 31, 2017

3.5/5

It's a nice film with some great moments but Mills' touch is too tentative to make all that talk buzz and hum as resonantly as it should.

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Tina Kakadelis

Beyond the Cinerama Dome

Jul 25, 2023

20th Century Women encapsulates the beautiful way parents and children love each other, but may never fully understand one another.

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CJ Sheu

Review Film Review

Apr 20, 2023

Mike Mills’s 20th Century Women (2016) is a masterpiece of intuitive plotting. The one part that doesn’t feel complete is Jamie’s (Lucas Jade Zumann) arc.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Apr 5, 2022

4/4

20th Century Women feels intimate beyond measure, and those who can relate will undergo a deep and meaningful connection to its characters.

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Leo F

@MagicHappens Jul 26, 2026

This is a tough movie for me to review because I'm probably not its intended audience. I likely wouldn't have watched it if it weren't an A24 film—I rarely miss one. 20th Century Women is a slow, dialogue-heavy, character-driven movie, best experienced as a Sunday matinee followed by lunch and a long conversation. Dorothea (Annette Bening), a widowed mother, recruits her tenant Abbie (Greta Gerwig), a photographer living with cancer, and her son's friend Julie (Elle Fanning) to help raise Jamie into adulthood. It reminded me of Sons and Lovers, where a young man is shaped intellectually, emotionally, and romantically by the women around him. The film beautifully captures people trying to raise someone else while still figuring themselves out. It just never grabbed me emotionally. It felt like a hug from someone using only their hands—warm, but never fully embracing. I left more exhausted than curious.

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Bronwyn D

@RT07483080 Oct 22, 2024

Annette Bening is a magnificent actor. All the actors in this were very good. Personally, I didn't like the film too much. Seemed like it was trying to be more realistic than it was.

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Munkhchimeg T

@RT64187897 Jul 23, 2024

Deep meaningful and beautiful movie. Well done

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Jeff M

@jeffmarshallmovieblogger Jan 22, 2024

Very engaging, often candid, extremely memorable characters and performances. Becomes deeper as you think back on it.

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Alec B

@Alec97 Dec 14, 2023

Mills has refined his style and writing here, crafting a unique character study that deliberately avoids simplistic resolutions. One of the few period films set in the 70s that never gets overpowered by cliched aesthetics.

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The Great John A

@RT46431815 Nov 14, 2023

The film is good except for the characters, setting, dialogue and the story... oh and the acting too. Shame really, I quite like Elle fanning.

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Mike Mills

Director

Annette Bening

Dorothea

Elle Fanning

Julie

Greta Gerwig

Abbie

Billy Crudup

William

Lucas Jade Zumann

Jamie

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Synopsis

In 1979 Santa Barbara, Calif., Dorothea Fields is a determined single mother in her mid-50s who is raising her adolescent son, Jamie, at a moment brimming with cultural change and rebellion. Dorothea enlists the help of two younger women -- Abbie, a free-spirited punk artist living as a boarder in the Fields' home and Julie, a savvy and provocative teenage neighbor -- to help with Jamie's upbringing.

Director: Mike Mills
Producer: Anne Carey, Megan Ellison, Youree Henley
Screenwriter: Mike Mills
Distributor: A24
Production Co: Annapurna Pictures, Modern People, Archer Gray
Rating: R (Language|Brief Drug Use|Sexual Material|Some Nudity)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 20, 2017, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 14, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.7M
Runtime: 1h 58m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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