Amazon.com video review:
The sublime Late August, Early September, a story of a
quartet of Parisian adults (young and not so young) grappling with
love, indecision, and crises of confidence, is not titled for a time of
year but for a feeling, a tone, and a sense of passage. Self-conscious,
shy writer Mathieu Amalric (My Sex Life...) is fast approaching
30 and furiously second guessing every step he makes. He's broken it
off with delightfully gawky yet graceful Jeanne Balibar and is in the
midst of an affair with the wild Virginie Ledoyen (The Beach), a
sexy, young, sweet-and-sour girl with the temper of a diva. Francois
Cluzet (Round Midnight), a cult author with a teenage
girlfriend, is the old man of the bunch and an uncomfortable mentor to
Amalric.
Shooting with a restless camera that bobs around searching for a better
look, and fading out of scenes before they end, as if life continues on
past our privileged peek, Olivier Assayas (Irma Vep) has an
unusual and unique style. It's like he catches his characters off
guard, capturing moments of hesitation and discomfort, when the social
front can't quite hide their fears and frustrations. All the better to
appreciate their little triumphs. Not much really "happens" in the
drama, but the quirky Assayas beautifully captures a portrait in messy
emotions, inarticulation, and contradiction with modesty and sympathy.
--Sean Axmaker
