September Issue Reveals Great Documentary Opening

I recently saw The September Issue, an engaging documentary about life at Vogue magazine under the helm of Anna Wintour.  Watching the opening scene from a structural point of view (yes, I was still able to enjoy the film!), I was reminded of an old Hollywood film precept: the first person you see in a film should be the protagonist.  In this case, the film opens with Anna, editor-in-chief at Vogue, reflecting on how the general public sees high fashion as frivolous.  I thought this was a good way to introduce the protagonist, an anything-but-frivolous character! (She sees her biggest strength as decisiveness.)  The next scene was also well-crafted.  We see her employees scurry to meet her expectations and deadlines, intercut with shots of Ms. Wintour making her way through Manhattan on her way to the office.  The audience quickly hones in on the tension between this effective if demanding woman and her underlings.  In fact, viewers know within five minutes what the film is about, an important criteria for any good opening.

 

One last thought about The September Issue, which I had when I first heard about it at the Sundance Film Festival.  Documentary director R.J. Cutler wisely chose to focus on the making of one particular issue of the magazine, as a way to give the protagonist a desire.  This focusing of the film on the main character’s goal lent the documentary some important narrative muscle and saved it from being a pleasant but potentially boring slice-of-life portrait.