Review of The September Issue (2009) by Steven L — 27 Jan 2012

While this documentary was by no means cheap to produce (considering all of the high profile events and places traveled), the filmmakers certainly didn't invest a lot of money into fancy equipment--all of the camerawork was handheld.

As a matter of fact, this camerawork worked really well for this documentary in weaving in the journalistic--real-time feel of the story. "The September Issue" is media journalism at its best.

The viewers are taken into a project, in this case, the process of creating the biggest issue in Vogue history, the September Issue. This process is followed in great detail--subject interviews and footage of the crucial steps of the process are interwoven seamlessly into one another.

The editing in this film is so effective, one hardly notices there's a cut. The handheld camerawork does a great job of allowing the viewers a front row seat into all of the action. One important note is the story line itself--"The September Issue" is much more than just an informational documentary that traces the steps by which a publication is completed.

It is also a story of people and relationships within the context of the fashion world--a constant push-and-pull between business and creativity. While the film advertises itself by using editor-in-chief Anna Wintour as the centerpiece, we learn just as much about the creative director, Grace Coddington as we do Ms.

Wintour. Indeed, the juxtaposition between the two subjects, one economical, cold, and perpetually dissatisfied, the other, romantic, passionate, and hopeful, is the embodiment, the reflection of the fashion industry itself.