September Means We're Not So Far From Heaven
Thursday, September 1, 2016 at 8:06AM If you've been melting from the heat all summer, the thought of orange foliage and fallen leaves sweeping in the wind feels as welcome and cozy as a smart headscarf and sensible jacket. And now that sweltery August has thankfully come to a close, let's pretend like autumn's official kick-off isn't a couple of weeks away and start celebrating at the stroke of September - shifting weather patterns, ignored.
Without reservation, the first film that comes to mind when I think of fall is Todd Haynes' other magnificent 50s-set melodrama Far From Heaven. Away from the stuffy judgment of suburban social mores, Cathy Whitaker escapes from her plastic shackles and finds that seasons change swifter in nature and far more beautifully than they do around the cul-de-sac. Thankfully, the camera is under the trees with her.
Which movies instantly transport you into the sweater-draped headspace of the autumn months?
Reader Comments (18)
When Harry Met Sally...
Peyton Place: “Indian summer is like a woman. Ripe, hotly passionate, but fickle, she comes and goes as she pleases so that one is never sure whether she will come at all, nor for how long she will stay.”
Sept. 28 will be the 60th anniversary of the publication of Grace Metalious' scandalous bestseller.
I wrote an essay about Grace & Jacqueline Susann, whose road to bestsellers and film adaptations had a lot in common, here:
http://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2016/08/jacqueline-susann-grace-metalious-women.html
Death to summer heat!
Halloween and Thanksgiving movie come to mind first, but FAR FROM HEAVEN is a great choice
Nightmare before Christmas. Probably also Stepmom.
Shaven chested William Holden in Picnic with Kim Novak slow dancing to screen goddess status!
Obviously ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS.
Beautiful post. :)
For me it's An Education.
Grease, oddly enough. And Halloween, The Trouble With Harry, Stardust Memories, Interiors...
BUT I LOVE SUMMER!
Oh man, someone already mentioned it but All That Heaven Allows is so autumnal that I look to it for references on how to dress fabulously during this, my favorite season. Love the movie so much.
Definitely HANNAH AND HER SISTERS reminds me of autumn. I picture Barbara Hershey standing on the dock with the fall breeze blowing through her hair as lovely piano music fills the background. Truth be told, though, I can probably come up with a reason to watch this masterpiece any season.
The Trouble with Harry is one of my favorite comfort-food movies year-round, but I have almost a ritual of popping the DVD in on the first crisp day of fall with a hot cup of tea. I could live in that world forever.
First thing I thought of just now was the impeccably mordant final scene of Varda's "Le Bonheur,"
Even though it's not a great movie, I often think of Indian Summer. I think that's just because of the title, though. Plus it does have a very nostalgic, end-of-summer, September-y feeling to it.
Bullets Over Broadway and September always remind me of autumn!
"Far From Heaven" is such a perfect film..but to me the movie of the season is Carpenter's "Halloween"
Watership Down - the idyllic countryside vistas; the gorgeous, haunting score. And major reminders of DEATH!
"Birth" with Nicole Kidman is an eternal favorite, and an underrated masterpieces that always comes out in Autumn. The Alexandre Desplat score is unforgettable, as are Jonathan Glazer's haunting images and Kidman's stunning, transformative performance. It is a haunting, gorgeous meditation on grief and the powerful hold that those who pass on before us always have upon us as we carry them on in our own spirits and memories.