September is a bit like a mini-soap opera, but it is worth sitting through some of the more passive scenes just to see the beautiful countryside of Scotland. The cast are consummate professionals which everyone will be able to identify. I tend to believe that people who enjoy heavy action movies will not enjoy September, even though it has a mystery running through the film. It furnishes a glimpse into the world of Highland wealth and the relationships and situations of families and community members that have a history together. There is, of course, the return of a sort of outcast in Pandora and it is a treat to see Ms. Bisset in this role. All in all, it was not a badly done film and I am glad that I took the time to enjoy it.
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Azareus17 October 2006
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The complex story contained within this movie is universal, in that it involves a group of families living in Scotland and is called " September." The constants are the changing seasons, family, friends, neighbors and the secrets nearly everyone is privy to. Twenty years ago, a beautiful woman named Pandora (Jacqueline Bisset) shared a most notable time at the estates of two wealthy men. The first was Edward Fox who plays Archie, a married, wounded and retired army veteran and Michael York who plays Sir. Edmund a wealthy businessman with world wide interest. Years ago both had a secret affair with Pandora who wanted the security of family, love and marriage. However, when both men revealed their primary interests, she came second. Rebuffed by their explanations, she suffered a car crash and lost her child. Twenty years have passed and Pandora is returning to the family gathering and all concern are wary of her reasons. The story was written by Rosamunde Pilcher who's novel became the tedious three hour movie. Take your eyes from the film and you may lose your interest in this Scotish Payton place. The gorgeous landscapes and beautiful sceneries are simply majestic, but the movie is slow paced and fraught with bad editing and unresolved characters. ****
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EsmeraldaHugo14 September 2006I really enjoyed this. The book is one of my favourite cosy reads - handsome strong men, roaring fires, glasses of whisky and glamorous parties in Scotland.
This film is pretty faithful to the book with a few minor changes. Noel is renamed Neil and a few characters (Hamish) are missing entirely. But broadly this is nicely done.
Edward Fox and Michael Yorke both give v. good performances as does Jacqueline Bisset. The casting is pretty good too in the light of the book. I was disappointed to learn that it was filmed in Ireland not Scotland which is a bit of a travesty but it still looks beautiful.
It is not a brilliant Oscar winning type film but of its genre its v. nicely done.
For Rosamunde Pilcher fans, a good way to spend a winter evening - watch this with a glass of red wine snuggled up by yourself on the sofa. -
gvpcl25 November 2009I'd like to comment on that of "mainerose" who didn't like the film. First of all, the writers DID explain Pandora's suicide. Second of all, the beautiful "Highland" scenery was Ireland, not Scotland. So my question is, did you even see the film?? Personally, I thought the film was quite lovely - I did watch it in one sitting - and I thought it did a good job of capturing the sense of life in upper class Scotland. I was disappointed in the character of Lottie and the failure to explain how she got around at night on foot (sneaking around in the Aires' garden). She was almost unnecessary to the plot and the film could have been shorter without all the details about her. I also thought that Mariel Hemingway was miscast. She always seemed to be on the edge of tears. I do enjoy watching Jacqueline Bisset and Michael York and Virginia McKenna, in anything.
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Sleepy-1727 July 2003You'll watch it for the stars, but it plays like a day-time soap. The acting is good most of the time (these people are real pros), but the key moments are played so artificially that your mind starts to wander. At three hours (the version on Showtime), this is just too long to view at one sitting. Nice chance to see Jackie Bisset playing the aging femme fatale. Involving, but tests your patience.
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Sheila_Beers13 November 2009I loved this film for the beautiful story of the interwoven lives of a family and friends in a community, with a bit of mystery running through it. As the film opens, everyone is looking forward to September when the end of summer will usher in fall and the ensuing winter. In the film the change of seasons symbolizes change in the lives of the characters while the coming dormancy of winter symbolizes death. The family matriarch and a granddaughter will be celebrating birthdays the same week in September, the enigmatic Pandora will return to the favorite place of her youth, and eight-year-old Henry and his parents contemplate the boy's bittersweet departure for boarding school.
The reason for Pandora's suicide is given in the letter she leaves for Archie, portrayed by Edward Fox. The lady has incurable cancer and would rather die painlessly in the place she has loved throughout her life rather than in a cold, sterile hospital. Throughout the story are hints about the child she miscarried and what the child might have been. She tries to compensate for the loss when she takes young Henry on an outing in the village.
The "sad American," the former boyfriend of Virginia, has been touched by the death of his wife, and he also relates to the change in seasons. However, the coming wedding of Alexa and her boyfriend (presumably to take place the next spring, the time of rebirth) gives a note of optimism to the film, and the anticipated event shows the continuity of life and the future of the family.
In only one viewing this has become one of my favorite films, and I recommend it very highly. -
mainerose9 July 2009Rosamunde Pilcher is one of my very favorite authors. so I was really looking forward to seeing this movie. It is, without a doubt, the worst adaptation of a novel that I have ever seen. There is absolutely NO coherence---if one had not read the book one would be completely at sea. I understand that much of the book had to be cut, but surely it could have been done more judiciously. The stellar cast is caught in a mishmash of chop-and-change scenes and a pathetically lame script. The changes were horrid: adding Pandora's pregnancy, changing Noel to Neil, and leaving out so much of the background that the viewer was lost in a deep Scottish mist. Shame on the costumer for keeping Isobel bundled in the clothes of a scullery maid; shame on the writers for failing to explain Pandora's suicide, and shame on the whole ensemble for virtually wrecking a lovely story. The only thing true to the book was the Highland scenery, and we got to see very little of that. Rosamunde---I am so sorry that they so completely defiled your work!