Review of 20th Century Women (2016) by Spine_Notches — 18 Jan 2017
Superb direction, cinematography, screenplay, and music sell this zippy journey through Mike Mills' childhood, which doubles back on itself in the way that the best stories do. But all this is secondary to the fantastic lived-in kind of acting that lights up the screen here.
Fanning is some sort of revelation here, as a teenager asked to grow up too quickly. She seems invincible when she cartwheels across the bottom of a dried-out swimming pool but then, coming to a rest, fragile all the same.
Gerwig plays Gerwig; Benning gets laughs from just the little ways her eyes squint and move in response to the insanity of the decade. By virtue of narration as a plot device, we are gifted with more details about these people and more time with them than we could ever ask for and yet we are left wanting more at the end.
This is a Movie with a capital M – a separate place, with separate lives and separate attitude. The ending arrives all too soon, and perhaps inelegantly, but isn't that always the case.
This review of 20th Century Women (2016) was written by Spine_Notches on 18 Jan 2017.
20th Century Women has generally received very positive reviews.
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