During the summer of 1979, a Santa Barbara single mom and boardinghouse landlord (Annette Bening) decides the best way she can parent her teenage son (Lucas Jade Zumann) is to enlist her young tenants – a quirky punk photographer (Greta Gerwig), a mellow handyman (Billy Crudup) and her son's shrewd best friend (Elle Fanning) – to serve as role models in a changing world.

Critic Reviews:

• " The film is well worth a look, if just for the performances; just know going in that director Mills calls upon his cast and script to do most of the heavy lifting. " – Scott Marks (San Diego Reader)

• " It's a credit to Mills that he makes it feel like he's making the Earth move even when he's just capturing a snapshot in time. " – Adam Graham (Detroit News)

• " The film's greatest strength is its specific set of characters. While no big events or personal crises happen, no one seems two-dimensional or thin. " – Colin Covert (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• " As a celebration of personal and social history, “20th Century Women” takes the audience back. But it also lifts us up on a wave of openhearted emotion and keen intelligence. It bursts with the sad, messy, ungovernable beauty of life. " – Ann Hornaday (Washington Post)