It's 1979 Santa Barbara, California. Dorothea Fields (Annette Bening) is a progressive divorcée raising her fifteen year old son Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann). They have taken in two boarders. Abbie Porter (Greta Gerwig) is a photographer getting treated for cervical cancer and William (Billy Crudup) is a handyman who is refurbishing the house. Julie (Elle Fanning) is Jamie's best friend but she insists on being just friends.

This is a cross between 'Dazed and Confused' and 'Koyaanisqatsi'. It starts slowly. There isn't much of a plot to drive the film. The five main characters is played brilliantly by these compelling actors. Bening gets most of the acclaim but everybody deserves some praise. The kid is solid. Gerwig and Crudup do their usual good work. Fanning is stretching out into a more adult role. Writer/director Mike Mills is building a nice resume. The movie slowly builds into a sad, poignant life story. One does feel like Dorothea as the only one who finds the beauty in Jimmy Carter's 'Crisis of Confidence' speech. I suggest sticking with it and get to know these characters.

This movie stars Annette Benning as the miserable failure of a mother and combines this popular theme with favorite of a decade or so ago, the It Sucks To Go Through Puberty in a Well-To-Do family in the 1970s theme. Miss Benning (who is wonderful in the role; I've been an admirer since The Grifters) is a Strong Woman raising her son on her own, but doesn't know what to do with a teen-age son, because she's a woman, so she enlists two other women, of course: Elle Fanning, who's friends with her son (who is in love with her) and sleeps with other boys; then she comes over to the house so she can TALK with the boy and sleep IN the same bed, but they're friends, really, so she can snuggle up to him, but he can't touch her. Also Greta Gerwig, who makes him read radical feminist tracts.

Things go from bad to worse. I wonder why.

Writer and director Mike Mills film follows the lives of five people living in a house in southern California in 1979 and three generation of women.

Dorothea (Annette Bening) a divorced woman in her mid 50s is raising her teenage son Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann) and concerned to raise him properly especially as he has no male role models. Jamie is making his own way through life as a growing teenager, he has a close relationship with neighbour Julie (Elle Fanning) who sneaks into his bedroom often but she might be pregnant from a casual encounter with another teenager.

Also living in the house is orange haired punk Abbie (Greta Gerwig),a young photographer and cancer survivor and hippy William (Billy Crudup) a kind of handyman and who makes things with his hands. He begins a relationship with Abbie but he is a popular guy with the ladies.

The film follows how these oddball group of characters have an impact on the lives of Dorothea and Jamie as times are changing. Even President Carter is uncertain about the times. America is moving on to a new decade and indeed soon to a new president. With these changing times the characters are concerned what music and dance are considered cool or not.

This is a well acted ensemble piece with the just right amount of kookiness. Look out for the awkward discussion about periods during a dinner party scene.

The narrative moves ahead of time as the adult Jamie reflects back as to what happened to some of the characters, all that smoking Dorothea does will have an impact on her health some years for now.

The film is rather uneven and I felt oddly paced, the running time is too long and there is little plot in it.