A film about nothing specific boasts rush of gorgeous moments, a standout performance from Annette Bening and profound thoughts on family and identity
There is a third rail for many film-makers, the alluring danger of quirk. Quirk is a somewhat indefinable thing but, to paraphrase supreme court justice Potter Stewart, we know it when we see it. There are some, however, who know how to harness its powers, and six years after the festival debut of Beginners, designer, music video director and guy-with-cool-associates <a href=”https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/jul/16/mike-mills-beginners-thumbsucker” data-link-name=”in” body link” class=”u-underline”>Mike Mills has stepped back behind the camera to one-up himself. 20th Century Women is a rushing river of gorgeous moments, a full-frontal assault of poetic observation and craftily constructed vignettes. By being about nothing specific (is there even an elevator pitch here?) it manages to be about everything, a coming-of-age tale about a kid thats different but not too different. Moreover, it proves that Mills is no dilettante, he has developed a very specific style that is, above all the poignancy, deliciously watchable.