It’s 1979 and President Jimmy Carter is on television giving his “Crisis of Confidence” speech. Meanwhile, in the new trailer for “20th Century Women,” Annette Bening is the only one in the room watching who seems to actually get it.
Set in Santa Barbara, California, “20th Century Women” follows Dorothea Fields (Bening), “a determined single mother in her mid-50s who is raising her adolescent son, Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann) at a moment brimming with cultural change and rebellion. Dorothea enlists the help of two younger women in Jamie’s upbringing — via Abbie (Greta Gerwig), a free-spirited punk artist living as a boarder in the Fields’ home, and Julie (Elle Fanning), a savvy and provocative teenage neighbor.”
From the look of the trailer, the 1970s setting recalls an environment of free-thinking and women’s liberation. When A24 acquired the film, directed by Mike Mills, back in June, they said, “With truly unforgettable performances and a meticulous sense of time and place, ‘20th Century Women’ is an iconic mother-son story that we know will resonate strongly with wide audiences.”
Four-time Academy Award nominee Bening will no doubt earn some awards buzz following the movie’s release. First, it will play at the New York Film Festival, and then open on December 25.
