The September Issue, a 2009 film by R.J. Cutler, documents the making of, well, the September issue of Vogue magazine. The camera follows around both Anna Wintour and her Creative Director, Grace Coddington over the course the endeavor (yes, “endeavor” is the only word I can think of to describe this issue). While Anna is presented in all of her editorial glory, every bit as notorious and worshiped as imagined, Grace also gets a strong amount of screen time, acting as Wintour’s loyal, yet stubborn partner-in-crime. While Wintour is always left with the “final call”, Coddington is perhaps the most interesting woman in this film, being that she is the only person to ever stand-up to Wintour, even if that only means saying “no” twice before Anna gets her way.

What’s remarkable about this film is not Anna’s mysteriously cold demeanor, nor her exquisite choice of apparel – though these traits certainly do keep the viewer hooked – but rather, the relationship between these two powerful women – one, the modern day Coco Chanel, and the other, something of a Tyler Shields when it comes to fashion photography.

The filmmaker Cutler clearly gets what’s interesting when it comes to making a documentary. He’s not filming Anna or Grace as individuals, but rather, focuses on the story of two powerful women at play. Coddington sums up their editorial relationship quite concisely with a statement early on in the film, “Anna and I both started here on the same day,”; and while Anna may always have the final say on what runs and what doesn’t, Grace certainly holds her own when it comes to making a point (even if that point is completely disregarded). What this story is about is the perfecting of perfection, and that’s what makes this film so gripping. (Hey, my boyfriend sat through the whole thing, and he has holes in his socks.)

 The September Issue stands out against other documentaries in the genre because it manages to capture more than just a name and a face. This film is not just about a person; it’s about how a person interacts with other people. It’s the lives of the talented intertwining and learning to function and breathe as one unit – a unit that will produce the modern day bible for fashion addicts. The gods of the apparel-driven, the Zeus and the Hera of the current age. Okay, enough already, you get my point, it’s interesting to watch geniuses at work.

 
FREE Screening
as part of
TFI’s Neuro-Cinema and Beyond series:
Saturday, February 25th at 2:15pm

Martin Luther King Auditorium
Santa Monica Public Library
601 Santa Monica Blvd
RSVP’s to: 1-800-ST-JOHNS

http://www.newstjohns.org/neurocinema.aspx

Q&A with director, Jeff Malmberg and neurosurgeon, Dr. Daniel Kelly

Articles on Mark and Marwencol

Wall Street Journal

Psychology Today

New York Times

Huffington Post

Los Angeles Times

Wired Magazine

Denver Post

Austin Chronicle

The Treatment

For more articles, please go to
www.marwencol.com

Free Screening
on Saturday February 25th
at
2:15pm

Followed by a Q&A with Director Jeff Malmberg
and
Dr. Daniel Kelly, neurosurgeon at Saint John’s Health Center
and
Director of the Brain Tumor Center at the John Wayne Cancer Institute

Location:
Martin Luther King Auditorium
Santa Monica Public Library
601 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA

RSVP’s required: 1-800-ST-JOHNS