September (1987)

Oh, it's a long, long, while, from May to September

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

July 28, 2008

Like a Play

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. July 26, 2008

Nice enough but we've seen it before

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. October 11, 2007

Perfect (almost)

I have only one quibble with this wonderful movie. Sam Waterston (Peter) did I thought a very poor job. It wasn't until his last moments in the movie that I realized he was on the level. I thought he was a phony, leading the two women on, out for a roll in the hay and didn't care what he had to say to get it. I was wrong. This spoiled the movie for me. But surmounting that, I loved every emotional moment in it. I thought it was beautiful. And I thought everyone but Waterston was wonderful. I really liked the love between Mia Farrow's parents, they fit, they were happy. And I think Dianne Wiest is some kind of a sorceress. How many people is she? I saw her in Allen's Bullets and was enchanted. And now this. A totally different type, different person. And brother can she act. I love this movie and I think the nasty Amazon staff review is dead wrong. Allen the wit truly has a gift for drama. The dialogue rang true and was literate (though not literary), I love Allen's taste in music, the characters were clearly defined and lifelike. One note. I've seen all Allen's movies except "Celebrity" which is next on my list. There is a common character in them. And that's the artist (in this case Mia Farrow and her photography) who feels like a failure and doesn't know what to do with his life. I thought it was a great flick. January 4, 2007

"The main emotion of the adult American who has had all the advantages of wealth, education, and culture is disappointment."

Made by Woody Allen in his serious mode, the drama "September" is not as impressive and fine as "Another Woman" but it is still an interesting movie. Chekhov said once about the characters in his plays, "People sit at the table, drink tea, talk politics, and at the same time their hearts get broken". In this regard, Allen's "September' is a very Chekhovian movie ("Uncle Vanya" comes to mind first). The film takes place inside a country house in Vermont where several characters, friends and relatives of Lane (Mia Farrow), a fragile and troubled young woman recovering from a nervous breakdown, get together for a rainy weekend in the end of the Summer. The weekend will be filled with the drinks, conversations, tender and delicate music. Six characters will fell in and out of love; the friendships will be betrayed, the hearts will be broken, a hidden family secret will come out. Along with the characters, we will reflect on love, mother-daughter complicated relationship, family secrets, aging, loneliness, longing, emotional crises, and self doubt as six cultured and intelligent individuals will try to find the meaning and the purpose in their lives. The film brings to mind John Cheever's observation: "The main emotion of the adult American who has had all the advantages of wealth, education, and culture is disappointment." There are a lot of disappointments, regrets and unhappiness in the characters of "September" but the weekend will be over, the rain will stop. There will be the possibility of hope in the future. The sun always comes after the rain.

3.5/5 (or 7/10)
September 19, 2006

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