20th Century Women

People are annoying. Love and loss go hand in hand in 20th Century Women, a funny, emotionally piercing story about a teenager and the women who raise him

The most pleasurable aspect of “20th Century Women” (and it’s pleasurable throughout) is that it allows itself to be messy. The characters are allowed to breathe. People are weird. People are beautiful. People are annoying and complex. You never ever know what they’re going to do next. You never know what’s going to happen next. Remember that, the film says. It’s important, maybe the most important thing of all.

It’s a lovely, unfocused movie that acknowledges nostalgia but doesn’t wallow in it.