SEPTEMBER

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 2 out of 5

Because of: adulterous themes

Rated:

Every writer has a story to tell. It's an echo of their soul demanding the attention of the masses. Woody Allen is no different, although with September it's difficult to determine just what he was attempting to say about life. Perhaps that healing takes time, or we cannot control who we love, or even that men are incapable of survival without hurting one another. I don't know.

A half dozen people are shut up in the same house together over the summer holidays. The sprawling cottage belongs to Lane (Mia Farrow), a mentally unstable young woman recovering from a suicide attempt. Her married best friend Stephanie (Dianne Wiest) is there to offer moral support and escape for awhile from her overbearing husband. Things were fine until Lane's ambitious and socially outgoing mother Diane (Elaine Stritch) came along with her latest husband (Jack Warden). They meant to stay a couple of days and have been there over two weeks. Lane hates her mother for a series of situations in her youth that lead to her mental fragility, but most of all despises Diane for drawing away the attention of local failing author Peter (Sam Waterston). Struggling to write a book in the few weeks of holiday he has left, Peter is more intrigued by Diane's life story and the possibility of writing her memoirs.

It's the perfect setting for star crossed lovers. Lane is madly in love with Peter, who had no idea of her mental state when he began their affair. He is secretly in love with Stephanie, who he hasn't said more than five words to all summer. And then there's Howard (Denholm Elliott), who been in love with Lane since he set eyes on her. Stephanie is determined not to fall for Peter, both for the sake of her husband and best friend, but finds herself drawn to him in the few days they have left. Lane is about to reach a mental collapse, unable to understand why Peter is pulling away from her, and wants to sell the cottage and move to New York for a new start, something that sets her mother on edge. What results is a complex depiction of a slightly less than normal dysfunctional family and the chaos that ensues. It's an interesting little film that moves slowly but never feels over-long; it's almost like hanging out in a summer house with old friends.

What interested me the most was the little things that were alluded to, such as the incident that drove Lane over the edge when she was fourteen. The author hints very strongly toward it and then drops a bombshell on the audience through one angry outburst that is immediately hushed up among those gathered. The movie doesn't seem to have any answers to life's greatest questions, but does show the unhappiness that results from a life without purpose. It's not depressing but it's not heartening either. There is not much content to speak of, but Lane does contemplate downing a bottle of sleeping pills. References are made to earlier attempts to commit suicide. There is talk of a man being shot and killed. Language is occasional but does involve a half dozen mild abuses of deity and two misuses of Jesus' name.

Dialogue references the fact that Peter and Lane slept together early in their relationship. Peter asks Stephanie to run away with him. She debates on whether or not to spend the night with him, then does so (unseen). They are caught kissing in the pantry. She mentions not wanting to betray her husband, and intends to return to him for the sake of her children, but also offers the opinion that love is not a choice. Christians know otherwise. We choose to remain faithful and love our partners. Adultery is never forgivable. Diane finds and uses an old Ouija board to attempt to communicate with dead lovers. There is a fair amount of drinking. The movie is thought-provoking and interesting. It was fun for me to see such a wide group of talented actors in the same production. Apparently writer/director Woody Allen completely scrapped his original cast and started again. He made the right choices the second time around. It was also comical for me to see Wiest and Waterson play romantic roles opposite one another, because ten years later Wiest wound up playing Waterson's boss on Law & Order. Ahh, how the tables turn.

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