by FIRST LOOK PICTURES
| Average Rating: |
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| Sales Rank: | 19417 (lower is better) |
| Price Used: | $1.30 |
| Shipping: | Free Shipping on most orders over $25* |
| Availability: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| Director: | Austin Chick |
| Release Date: | 2008-08-26 |
| Label: | FIRST LOOK PICTURES |
| UPC: | 687797124791 |
| Binding: | DVD |
| Published By: | FIRST LOOK PICTURES |
| ASIN: | B00177YA74 |
| Category: | DVD |
Actors and Actresses
Editorial Reviews and Product Descriptions
Description
AUGUST follows Tom Sterling (Josh Hartnett) as an aggressive, young dot-com entrepreneur who fights to keep his start-up company afloat. Tom finds himself on a personal and professional downward spiral as he struggles to reunite with girlfriend Sarrah (Naomie Harris), attempts to regain control of his company from his apathetic investor Ogilvie (David Bowie), and must deal with age-old family wounds with his father, David (Rip Torn) and his brother Joshua (Adam Scott). The film also stars Emmanuelle Chriqui as Morela and Andre Royo as Dylan.
Amazon.com
The specter of September 11th looms over August--there are numerous indications that it’s set in 2001, and the title alone is an ominous indication of the imminence of that awful day--but watching this 2008 offering, one gets the feeling that even if Tom Sterling knew 9/11 was coming, he wouldn’t change a thing. As written by Howard A. Rodman, directed by Austin Chick, and portrayed by John Hartnett, Tom is almost completely unlikable. A dot-com entrepreneur in those heady days before the techno bubble burst and internet companies like his Land Shark went directly south, Tom’s hipper than his neck tattoo, disdainful of his competition, borderline abusive to his younger, meeker brother (the technical brains behind the company they founded together), hostile to his parents, and a jerk to his former girlfriend, the one person he actually seems to care about. He’s also a master at talking loud and saying absolutely nothing. One of the filmmakers’ conceits is that we’re never told exactly what it is that Land Shark does; Tom mouths some nonsense about providing "bleeding-edge, mission-critical, cross-platform, robust, scale-able architectures," but the company’s principal function, as his dad (Rip Torn) puts it, seems to be to provide office space for his young employees to eat Oreos and play computer solitaire, and when Land Shark meets the fate of others of its ilk, it’s mighty hard to care. No flies on Hartnett--the guy is a star, and rarely less than watchable. But August is a cold film, in both look and feel, and even a brief but memorable scene near the end with David Bowie as the one character who seems able to talk straight won’t keep you from wanting to take a shower when it’s all over. --Sam Graham
Customer Reviews
Washcloth Please - Reviewed on 2008-09-01
6 customers found this review helpful, 2 did not.
Austin Chick's second feature since "XX/XY" @ Sundance is like the dot-com metaphor about which the film tells its story. It's a disaster. Josh Hartnett who looked good in even the turkey Lucky Number Slevin (Widescreen Edition) and really good in The Black Dahlia (Widescreen Edition) by Brian DePalma gives a paper-thin performance about a self-centered jerk who risks his family for pride. At one point, Tom is leaving the office to an important business conference & has apparently not bathed. He changes shirts, smells his armpit, wrinkles his nose, puts on a fresh shirt, and heads out the door. Will someone please give the stinky man a washcloth? Dorothy Parker once wrote about Katherine Hepburn on Broadway that she covered all the emotions "from A to B." This about describes the level of dejection that Hartnett is able to reach.
Adam Scott who was in Knocked Up (Unrated Widescreen Edition) in 2007, Monster-in-Law (New Line Platinum Series) in 2005 & The Aviator (Two-Disc Special Edition) in 2004 looks the best as Tom's brother Joshua who has a new baby and must place concerns for his family above his brother's business needs to raid his bank account. Scott reaches an excellent level of anxiety as he tries to evade his brother, but ultimately loves him even in failure.
Naomie Harris from "Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3" and "Miami Vice" does fairly well in a thin role as the object of the affections Tom Sterling can spare on anyone but himself. Rip Torn who has a lone supporting Oscar nomination for "Cross Creek" in 1983 is a bit over the top as his father David. Caroline Lagerfelt who was in "Minority Report" and works sporadically did well as the mother who can't quite keep her grown family together. David Bowie's appearance is brief, but he looks good.
The best thing about this film is its look. The cinematography and the wild nightclub look suit the story well. I also liked the black and white photography on the cover of the DVD. The big problem with the film is that the protagonist Tom Sterling is not likeable so when he fails we really don't care. Boy creates business; boy is a creep; boy loses business, end credits. Taxi!
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Book Subjects
- Color
- Drama
- English
- Family Drama
- Feature
- Feature Film-drama
- Movie
- Office Politics
- Rise and Fall Stories
- Sibling Relationships
- USA