20th Century Women

The story puts Dorothea, Abbie, and Julie at the center of Jamie’s growth. The women talk about sex, periods, cancer, motherhood, aging, and the choices women make. The film treats their views as valuable and uses them to question older ideas about how a man should act. The story stays tied to 1979 and shows the women as unsure and flawed, so the theme feels personal as well as openly feminist.

The film shows Dorothea as the only woman in her drafting room and shows male coworkers guessing about her sexuality. The film mocks boys who brag about sex but do not know how to please women. The story questions the idea that a mother alone must teach a boy how to become a man. These points are clear, but the film does not build a broad modern attack on capitalism, religion, or Western institutions.

Mike Mills has a history of personal films about family, gender, and identity. He has spoken about feminism, patriarchy, and his role as a male ally when discussing this film. His work usually uses those ideas in personal character stories rather than activist campaigns. This pattern supports a mild score, not a dominant one.