On paper, Beginners sounds like an insufferable bit of cutesy twee filmmaking, what with the pregnant pauses placed over carefully chosen images, a subtitled dog, its melancholy lead, and, oh, just about 100 other things that rankle for merely being mentioned. And yet it’s a work of overwhelming power, the rare indie white elephant that consists of termite scene after termite scene, never going for big swings of emotional realization or expulsion — a work content to let things “be.” It’s eminently affable, too, making for what’s far and away the most crushing film I’ll tune into whenever it’s on cable. (If you haven’t seen it and have a Netflix account, this link might be of interest.)
You can understand, then, why I’m happy to hear Mike Mills will soon begin production on his follow-up feature, 20th Century Women. Annapurna will be backing the endeavor, which he calls “an ode to the women who raised me; my mom, my sisters, the girls I was in love with or looked up to at school and in the punk rock scene where I really learned about the world.” with the support of Annapurna Pictures. The Wrap broke the news and managed to provide a full logline; it can be read below:
“Set in the wonderfully disruptive days of punk’s arrival to suburban America, Jimmy Carter’s last summer in office and the oil and fiscal crises of the late 70’s, the story is about three very different women teaching a boy what men are, what women are, about love and freedom and finding your own form of sanity in Santa Barbara 1979. When the boy’s mother takes in a male boarder, his world view is further shaken by the man’s desire to understand and be loved by these seemingly unknowable women.”
With the assistance of producer Youree Henley (The Bling Ring, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III) and outfit Archer Gray, Mills is currently in the midst of casting, with an eye to commence shooting at some point during this year. Halfway through January of 2015, 2016 is already starting to be whipped into shape.
Were you a fan of Beginners, and does word of this feature serve as encouragement?