One of Woody Allen's best films
Added 4/18/2009
This is by far one of Woody Allen's best films. My favorite film of his is Manhattan. But September really comes close. September is a very understated but beautiful, integrated film that fits together like a great painting. It is a subtle work of art, that is so immensely satisfying due to its quiet excellence. Yet it is so frustrating that mainstream "professional" critics dismiss movies like this. It just goes to show that you shouldn't trust journalists too much, which is why I give more credence to the insights of Amazon volunteer reviewers. The fact that the critics pan this masterpiece is absolute proof that you should not trust so-called "professional" critics. But it really amazes me that they don't get it.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
A softer, quieter side to a living legend...
Added 2/25/2009
If you were to define the term `passion project' you might want to use a film like `September'. Woody Allen was so `passionate' about this film that he shot it more than once, rewrote it during the shoot, recast the film multiple times, tore it apart after editing and was keen on doing it all over again. The finished piece we are left with is cohesive and genuine and `hopefully' what Allen was looking for.
I should say this first off; this is unlike your usual Allen fare so be forewarned. It is much more personal and intimate and draws comparisons to Bergman's work (who apparently is a big influential director for Allen). It feels so far removed from Allen's work that I would have never known it really was part of his filmography had I not looked it up.
Just thought you should know that.
The film takes place in one large home over a weekend while a middle-aged woman deals with her love interest in he neighbor as well as her distanced relationship with her attention hungry mother. I think the description for the film I read simply stated `Howard is in love with Lane but Lane is in love with Peter but Peter is in love with Stephanie' but it is so much more than that. The film reflects the quiet emotional balance between characters, allowing the house itself to almost take over in scenes as the characters converse in stilted whispers. Occasional outbursts of disgruntled chaos add layers of emotional relevancy to the otherwise docile proceedings. It's a very small, very quiet, very simple film, but it's within the simplicity that it excels.
The acting is all spot on, especially from the women. Mia Farrow (Allen's muse at the time) really captured her characters quiet desperation, allowing just enough of her uneasy nature to brim to her surface. Elaine Stritch is hilarious as Lane's intrusive mother Diane. The way she handles her characters self absorption is incredible. She's biting throughout. Dianne Wiest, a favorite of mine, continues to prove why she is seriously one of the best supporting actresses of all time. She flows effortlessly through this film, creating a character we want to know more of. The men here are fine bedfellows, but they cannot match the intrigue provided by their female counterparts.
My only complaint with the film is the script, which I felt was a little unfinished. I wasn't very interested in the subplot concerning Diane and her ex-boyfriend's murder or whatever. I know it was partially based on fact and it does offer us a segway into more meaty matters between mother and daughter, but I found that it felt rather forced, and that was a shame because the film otherwise feels very relaxed and genuine.
I still highly recommend this one though, for it is a different side of Woody and it serves as a nice character study; a true testament to relationships and self acceptance.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Oh, it's a long, long, while, from May to September
Added 7/28/2008
Woody Allen made September after Radio Days, with its huge ensemble cast. After orchestrating that circus, he wanted to do a piece of chamber music. It is a serious drama with hardly any jokes. No jokes whatsoever. It is similar to Interiors, kind of a Chekhov play, or else maybe like something Ingmar Bergman would do. Interestingly, Woody shot the whole film with one cast, didn't like it, and did the whole thing over again with a mostly different cast. So, even though it was a much cheaper film to make with fewer characters and all of the action taking place in one location, a house in Vermont, it cost twice as much as it should have.
It must have meant a lot to Woody Allen to make this film, but the results are flat. Dianne Wiest, Jack Warden, Elaine Strich, Denholm Elliott, and the rest give good performances, but we are left with a depressing movie where nothing much happens. The score, plenty of jazz standards like Slow Boat to China played on piano, some even featuring Ben Webster on tenor sax and Art Tatum on piano, are nice, but you'd be better off just playing their records.
The background information about the characters is doled out sparingly, with a few bombshells dropped here and there. There is an amusing scene where Mia is trying to sell her house, and a Real Estate Agent brings some prospective buyers through. Jack Warden's character is a physicist who has some interesting things to say about the randomness of sub atomic particles, but his insights, like September, go nowhere.
Films and Roles of Denholm Elliott
A Room With a View (1985) .... Mr. Emerson, an English tourist
Alfie (1966) .... The Abortionist
Films and Roles of Dianne Wiest
Edward Scissorhands (1990) .... Peg
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) .... Holly
Films and Roles of Elaine Stritch
Autumn in New York (2000) .... Dolly
Monster-in-Law (New Line Platinum Series) (2005) .... Gertrude
Films and Roles of Mia Farrow
Rosemary's Baby (1968) .... Rosemary Woodhouse
The Great Gatsby (1974) .... Daisy Buchanan
Films and Roles of Sam Waterston
Interiors (1978) .... Mike
The Great Gatsby (1974) .... Nick Carraway
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) .... Ben
Films and Roles of Jack Warden
From Here to Eternity (1953) .... Cpl. Buckley
Shampoo (1975) .... Lester Carp
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Like a Play
Added 7/26/2008
Never mind what the others think. This is a great little movie, with the usual fantastic jazz soundtrack. The mother is the best character because she seems to have had a life and still has a personality. The others are a bit wishy-washy, especially Mia Farrow. You can see why Woody had his fill of her. Beautiful interiors of a perfect Vermont country house. You'll laugh when the mother throws some house-hunters out. There are laughs in this picture.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Nice enough but we've seen it before
Added 10/11/2007
This is a fine ensemble cast, in the closed setting of a Vermont country house--we never even see the outdoors. The music is appropriately downbeat, as is the rainy weather that dominates much of the story. However, if you've seen Another Woman or Interiors, you have already seen this type of story, so it is nothing new and is inferior to them.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
