20TH CENTURY WOMEN

I was unsure what to expect with this film, and for good reason, it's not an easy movie to summarize in the usual glib "pitch" or ad. But it was worth seeing. Some good acting and interesting editing and pacing and writing (possibly accidental or unintended, but for me the rhythm of this flick seemed almost unique—a mini-trend in the movies of 2016, in terms of narrative drive being unexpectedly unpredictable, MOONLIGHT being at the top of that short list).

Annette Bening continues to rival Meryl Streep in range and longevity (if not in accents) at least in terms of the emotional spectrum if not in extremes of character types (no one beats Streep there). But as in JACKIE, the real pillars of understated realism were the performances of Greta Gerwig and Billy Crudup (watch JACKIE and 20TH CENTURY WOMEN back to back and they'll seem like contenders in the who-can-transform-themselves-most-from-role-to-role competition, partly physically but mostly character-wise).

Also recommended if you lived through the transition from Carter to Reagan (foreshadowing our current situation). Carter's supposed "malaise" speech is partly shown as part of the plot and his prescience in it almost made me cry for our missed opportunity to better prepare for the future that is now.