It’s 1979 in Santa Barbara: the hippie-dippie ‘70s are about to give way to punk and the wave of nihilism that goes with it, Jimmy Carter frets about a crisis of conscience on the TV set, and one kid’s trying to figure out how he fits into all of it.

As young Jamie, Lucas Jade Zumann may be the protagonist of Mike Mills’ upcoming drama 20th Century Women, but he’s not the star. As the newly surfaced trailer above shows, it’s the women in his life that really run the show — his mama Dorothea (nervy Annette Bening), the free-spirited boarder in his home Abbie (Greta Gerwig, effervescent as ever) and his long-standing crush Julie (Elle Fanning) all agree to take a hand in rearing this boy in the absence of any father figure. Also under the roof of their turbulent home is William (Billy Crudup), a sensitive handyman who needs a little feminine influence in his life as well.

Beginners director Mills’ latest feature drew positive notices when it made its debut during the New York Film Festival in October, and buzz is only expected to build as it approaches its Christmas Day release. Bening in particular has won plaudits for her portrayal of Dorothea, the sort of role women over 50 don’t get nearly enough of — strong but with good humor, dignified but not without desire, tough but warm. The new trailer plays up some of her best one-liners, and gives the viewer an eyeful of Mills’ golden-hued California-coastline photography. And for the greatest miracle of all, Jamie singlehandedly redeems the phrase “not all men,” turning it from an MRA clarion call to an earnest expression of unsureness about his own future. Anything is possible!

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