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Wintour watching.
There are two types of people in the world: those who know who Anna Wintour is and those who don't. The September Issue is a documentary that will easily be enjoyed by both these groups. Those who don't know who she is will find it interesting and humorous to learn about her and those who do know who she is will be able to discover the real woman behind the inspiration for The Devil Wears Prada, not to mention drool all over the copious amounts of Yves Saint Lauren, Louis Vuitton and other high end designers flung across the screen.
Yes, The September Issue is all about putting out the massive and iconic September issue of American Vogue, but this documentary is not just for the fashion elite. The film chronicles the five month lead up to the publication of the 2007 September issue and documents with incredible openness notorious editor-in-chief Anna Wintour's epic feat of putting it together. It also documents those who work with her to do this feat including American Vogue's Creative Director Grace Coddington who seems to be the one who butts heads with Wintour the most. The 2007 September issue was the largest in the magazines history with 840 pages and a weight of over five pounds. I say that's big, my fiancee describes it as wonderful. We come from different points of view on this, obviously.
We can both agree that the movie is wonderful, though. Shockingly candid for a film about a section of the world that is usually closed off to most the movie deftly weaves not just through the production of the magazine, but the people who put it together too. Yes, much of what you see in The Devil Wears Prada is actually true. Wintour rules fashion with a powerful fist, and what she says goes. Unlike The Devil Wears Prada, Wintour doesn't come across like an ice queen, but more of a determined editor doing what she has to do to put together 840 pages of magazine involving a plethora of models, photographers, fashion designers and editors -- all of whom quake in their boots in hilarious fashion when Wintour is around. If you ever want to see some of the most high powered designers in the world shake like scared, little children arrange them a meeting with Wintour.
While Wintour is immensely interesting, especially the few parts with her daughter, who blatantly states she doesn't understand what her mother does and doesn't want to work in the fashion industry because people take it far too seriously, it is Coddington who steals the show both with her frankness and humor. Coddington puts a large portion of the photo shoots together and subsequently has them torn apart and cut to shreds by the discriminating eye of Wintour who she has worked with for the past 20 years. It is this give and take (and it's mostly take by Wintour) that envelops the entire development of the issue and truly makes the film interesting. Coddington is often livid with what Wintour does, but she's also respecting of the skill and power that she wields. It's an immensely interesting study of a work relationship, and also makes for one of the most entertaining documentaries in years.
This might also be because the film is surprisingly unpretentious for its subject matter. Director R.J. Cutler has woven together a film that neither denigrates nor hails its subject matter -- a feat that is no easy task. While the cameras and film crew are clearly there (this isn't some grasp at "real life" being documented) they never intrude to a point where one believes they are influencing the goings on to any great effect and when they do they do it in ways that show the nature of the characters (Coddington plays on Wintour's ego to raise the budget of a shoot by discussing it in front of the cameras).The down side to this is that the movie doesn't confront a lot of problems with the fashion industry (fur, child labor, etc.), but it's hard to say if this film is the really the place to do it anyway.
What is most surprising about he film is just how entertaining it is. It isn't simply interesting to see how American Vogue is put together, but actually fun, humorous and insightful. Plus, Wintour is really a b**ch sometimes, and that is always good to watch.
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