20TH CENTURY WOMEN

The story is set in 1979 in Santa Barbara, California. Dorothea (Annette Bening) is a single mother who runs a boarding house with her young son, Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann). Among the tenants is Abbie (Greta Gerwig), an aspiring photographer with cervical cancer, and William (Billy Crudup), a carpenter, who begin a sexual relationship. Jamie's best friend and object of his affection, Julie (Elle Fanning), often spends the night without Dorothea's knowledge.

Dorothea, concerned that she cannot connect with her son, asks Julie and Abbie to help raise him. When Jamie learns about his mother's plan, he runs away to Los Angeles with his friends to attend a rock concert. When Jamie returns from the show, Julie tells him that she had unprotected sex with a classmate and is worried that she's pregnant. Jamie buys a pregnancy test for Julie, which comes back negative. Jamie also offers Abbie moral support by accompanying her to her doctor's appointment, where Abbie learns that she is cancer-free, but will likely be unable to have children. To thank Jamie, Abbie tells him that she was forced to leave her friends in New York and return to Santa Barbara after her cancer diagnosis, brought on by her mother's use of fertility drug DES.

One day, Dorothea and Julie discuss the fact that Dorothea has only pursued relationships with "safe" men, as opposed to men she is truly attracted to, like William. Dorothea then asks Abbie to show her the modern world. At a punk club, William kisses Dorothea, but she rejects him on account of his sexual relationship with Abbie. When William does end the relationship with Abbie, Abbie warns Jamie and Julie that they must leave Santa Barbara if they want to succeed in life.

Later, Abbie takes Jamie to a rock club where he gets drunk and kisses a girl. Meanwhile, Dorothea teaches William how to pursue a relationship with women, as opposed to seeking one night stands. When Abbie and Jamie return, Abbie shows Dorothea photographs she took of Jamie. Dorothea realizes that Jamie will never feel totally comfortable around her.

Jamie becomes curious about female sexuality, and Abbie lends him a book on gender inequality; when he reads it to Dorothea, she asks Abbie to stop teaching him about the feminist movement. The tension between Abbie and Dorothea comes to a head during a tenant dinner, where Abbie announces that she is suffering from menstrual cramps. She grows angry at the tenants' discomfort and makes all of the men at the table say the word "menstruation". This inspires Julie to recount her first sexual encounter, which upsets Jamie. Jamie tells her that he no longer wants her to spend the night.

Julie is hurt, but convinces Jamie to take a road trip along the California coastline. Jamie tells Julie that he loves her, but Julie says she cares about him too much to have sex. A fight ensues, during which Julie accuses him of only being nice to have sex with her, and Jamie disappears. By the time Dorothea, William and Abbie arrive to search for him, Jamie has returned. Jamie admits to Dorothea that he was hurt when she asked Abbie and Julie for help because it made her seem incapable of raising him. Dorothea tells Jamie about her relationship with Jamie's father.

The film ends with the main characters describing the rest of their lives in voice-overs. Julie moved to New York City to attend college, eventually losing touch with Jamie and Dorothea. She fell in love with a classmate and moved to Paris. They decided to not have children. Abbie stayed in Santa Barbara, marrying and starting a photography studio in her garage. Her photographs got displayed in local galleries. Against her doctor's advice, she conceived two boys. William lived with Dorothea for another year before moving to Arizona to open a pottery store and marrying twice. Dorothea met a man and stayed with him until her death in 1999 of cancer caused by her smoking. A few years after Dorothea's death, Jamie got married and had a son. He is unable to describe Dorothea to his son.