Here is the premise: The story of three women who explore love and freedom in Southern California during the late 1970s.
Although the story is about three women and their lives, I feel the main focus is a coming of age film about a 15 year old surrounded by women and curious about love and life. However you look at this film, it is a sweet, funny, and often sad film about the scars of life and love and how we deal with them.
Annette Bening does a great job as Dorothea, a woman scarred by love and raising her son with no boundaries. Bening plays this part with heart, and you see the pain of life in her performance, she definitely brings an Oscar worth performance. The entire cast does a great job, and each one shines at certain points of the film. The only constant shine is the ongoing story of Dorothea and her son Jaime.
I recommend 20th Century Women, but it is not for everyone. It is paced rather slowly but never gets boring.
Russell Lockhart
