'20th Century Women' Trailer: Annette Bening Grapples With Life and Motherhood in 1979
When the world is changing quickly around you, how do you know the right way to raise a child? Annette Bening grapples with that still-relevant question in 20th Century Women, a comedy-drama from writer-director Mike Mills (Beginners) about a single mother in 1979, trying to connect with her teenage son. In the process, she makes some surprising connections with the women around her. Watch the trailer above.
Bening plays Dorothea, a character inspired by Mills’ own mother, who lives with her son Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann) in Santa Barbara. As she grapples with Jamie’s transition from child to rebellious teenager, as well as the shifting culture of the late 1970s, Dorothea enlists help from the teenage girl next door (Elle Fanning) and the photographer (Greta Gerwig) renting a room from her. “How do you be a good man? What does that even mean nowadays?” Dorothea wonders aloud in the trailer. But the film is more about Bening’s character than it is about her son. “I don’t know if we ever figure our lives out,” she confesses. “And the people who help you, they might not be who you thought or wanted. They might just be the people who show up.”
20th Century Women, which began generating Oscar buzz for Bening after its New York Film Festival premiere, opens on Dec. 25.
Related: ’20th Century Women’ Review: Annette Bening Shines in Slice-of-1979-Family-Life Tale
