Director Mike Mills is quietly prepping his upcoming 1970s dramedy 20th Century Women for its world premiere at the New York Film Festival next week, and in an effort to drum up interest in the period pic, A24 has lifted the lid on the very first trailer.
Opening with Jimmy Carter’s famous speech, we are gradually introduced to three women – Greta Gerwig, Annette Bening and The Neon Demon‘s Elle Fanning – who come together to educate a wide-eyed teenage boy about love, sex and life itself against the idyllic backdrop of Southern California. Also starring Alien: Covenant alum Billy Crudup and Lucas Jade Zumann, Mills’ feature finds many of those characters circling the jaws of an existential crisis.
A gala screening at NYFF ought to catapult 20th Century Women directly into awards conversation going into the fall season, but until that time arrives, you can have a peek at the official synopsis, below.
Mike Mills’s texturally and behaviourally rich new comedy seems to keep redefining itself as it goes along, creating a moving group portrait of particular people in a particular place (Santa Barbara) at a particular moment in the 20th century (1979), one lovingly attended detail at a time. The great Annette Bening, in one of her very best performances, is Dorothea, a single mother raising her teenage son, Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann), in a sprawling bohemian house, which is shared by an itinerant carpenter (Billy Crudup) and a punk artist with a Bowie haircut (Greta Gerwig) and frequented by Jamie’s rebellious friend Julie (Elle Fanning). 20th Century Women is warm, funny, and a work of passionate artistry. An A24 release.
A24 has aligned 20th Century Women for theatrical release on Christmas Day in North America – UK residents get the movie on January 20 – placing the 70s dramedy up against strong competition in the form of Stephen Gaghan’s Gold. Meanwhile, New York Film Festival will be in full swing from tomorrow, September 30, and continues through until October 16. Mills’ feature is expected to bow on October 8.