Septiembre

Sombre story from Woody Allen details (with much angst) a disastrous weekend in Vermont with 6 people seemingly all at loose ends. Mia Farrow "lost" her husband and has fallen for lugubrious writer Sam Waterston, but he's fallen for Dianne Wiest. A neighbor, Denholm Elliott, secretly loves Mia. Mia's mother and husband have also arrived (Elaine Stritch and Jack Warden). Story has echoes of Ibsen and Bergman. Waterson and Farrow are a bit hard to take, but the acting is solid all round. The Vermont house is a set on a sound stage but looks great. Wiest is always good, and Warden is good but has little to do. The intruders--a realtor and two clients--are annoying boors (played by Rosemary Murphy, Ira Wheeler, and Jane Cecil). Stritch steals the show as the one-time playgirl/actress with a Lana Turner past. Had this film been a hit, Stritch would have garnered an Oscar nomination. She's a total dynamo even if her character is unsympathetic. Maureen O'Sullivan began shooting as the mother but was replaced by Stritch. Not for all tastes, not as good as "Interiors," but even mediocre Woody Allen is better than most.

I'm probably in the minority here but i find this to be one of Allen's top ten masterpieces. Every scene works and the more you watch it, the more searing it becomes. No doubt you need to be in the right frame of mind to see it, but it's like a great night watching a play unfold. So many deep secrets, betrayals and unspoken feelings, finally, all coming to a head by the time the power comes back on after that thunderstorm. It feels way too real and may be why it makes most audience members uncomfortable. I liked this the first time I saw it and continue to hold it in high esteem years and almost 2 decades later. To preserve the great Elaine Stritch on film forever is enough to recommend it but the acting is painfully truthful to the point of awe. Woody's 3 dramas: this and Interiors and Another Woman form a great triangle. They should be looked at and admired now for the fine ensemble casting and the pinpoint writing. Whether they rip off Bergman or not, is rather pointless to argue. Each of them stand up as potent films on their own. Waterston and Wiest re-united on TV's Law And Order, and Stritch as well went on to win an Emmy on Law, so it shows how intuitive Allen was when it came to choosing great actors for his scripts. I found Farrow's character to be highly moving. Then again, I liked everything she and Allen did together. You became almost spoiled by the high quality. As a lifelong Allen viewer, I still think this is fine stuff and will stick by my high opinion every time I re-see it.

Woody Allen in this movie brings to us the story of a group of people all staying at a summer home in the country. It's a very dark and claustrophobic place. And at this place we learn so much about the characters. This is a very deep character study and I think it's the best Allen "bergmanesque" film he's made. It has been highly underrated by people and critics. I feel it does not get any of the recognition it should. And Mia Farrow's and Sam Waterston's performances are magnificent.

Wasn't in the mood to watch a film last night, but couldnt remember seeing Denholm Elliot in a Woody Allen movie before, so realised this was one I hadnt seen before.

Can't say as I was 'entertained' - but I was gripped and rooted to the sofa for the duration, which could say something about my sofa of course, but was really down to this film. The dialogue and acting were both utterly convincing - and there were many moments of intense honesty. Just for once, relationships don't resolve, nor are we rescued from darkness by gratuitous humour. It's a stark, depressing beautifully acted piece of claustrophobic drama. More your Webern 'five pieces', rather than your Strauss, 'Der RosenKavalier'.

If nothing else - it's nice to be reminded that not all scripts are written by a gang of 12 year olds....

Let's face it: It's hard to be entertained by a story where everybody's in love with someone who's in love with someone else. Chekhov can make it compelling (watch "Vanya on 42nd Street" for recent proof of this), but Allen obviously had other things in mind with this film. I guess it was his antidote to "Hannah and Her Sisters," where similar love triangles (and other polygons) played out, but the end result was much happier. Allen usually doesn't like to give us such neat endings, so a year later we get "September," in which little is resolved and most of the characters end up back where they started. It's a fascinating film in its own way, but it doesn't bear repeated viewings.