●●●●○

You can always spot an Oscar bait film by its sentimentality; its affection for the human spirit over a time in a person’s life, or even just over a time period. 20th Century Women, written and directed by Mike Mills (Beginners), is no exception to that rule, but is incredibly enjoyable for all that.

It follows, primarily, the relationship between Dorothea (Annette Bening, American Beauty, The Kids Are Alright) and her teenage son Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann) as they cross the difficult period in their relationship, becoming that of two adults instead of an adult and a child. To help in this transition, Dorothea asks her boarders to help raise Jamie and point him on the right track. This neatly fits the eclectic group of characters into the plot; a grunge obsessed photographer called Abbie (Greta Gerwig, Frances, Ha), a hippie mechanic (Billy Crudup, Almost Famous) and a lost teenager who Jamie loves, Julie (Elle Fanning, Neon Demon).

It is a star studded cast, and that quality of acting really elevates this film beyond your average indie film. This cast allows these relatively simple scenes to feel poignant and for the comedy of them to shine. While all the cast do an excellent job making this very quiet little film incredibly engaging, it is Annette Bening who steals the show. Dorothea is a sad and wonderful woman, who is trying her best to help guide her younger friends and charges, all while trying to understand a world that has changed so much around her in her lifetime.

This overlap between generations forms the central question in the film. Dorothea’s son describes her as being ‘raised in the Depression’ when a child was raised by the community.  The three 20th century women were each raised in a different decade (the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s) and they have now face the 70’s, with its musical, sexual and feminist revolutions. Each character is trying to understand the new freedom and rules given to women in their own way, working out how convey this to the men in their worlds.

It is this interplay between the macro and micro that gives 20th Century Women its edge, and allows an Oscar bait film in an overcrowded genre to stand out ahead of the pack.