The September Issue

Few in the publishing industry have earned the celebrity status of Anna Wintour. Known almost as well for coldness as for her taste-making, the bobbed editor of Vogue magazine has been mocked incessantly. But as director R.J. Cutler’s newest documentary shows, she didn’t get to the top by being just mediocre at her job.

The September Issue brings audiences behind closed doors, revealing Wintour in her workplace. Highlighting the production of the fashion bible’s September 2007 issue—Vogue’s thickest volume yet—Cutler focuses on the creative tension between Wintour and her longtime co-worker, Creative Director Grace Coddington. If Wintour is a wicked witch, then Coddington is Glinda. The two spar over design, the ever-likable Coddington fighting to have her work included while the editorially vicious Wintour removes spreads and photos.

For a man who made his name with political documentaries like The War Room and The Perfect Candidate, Cutler might seem a surprising choice to helm this documentary. He handles the film with moderate success. The creative dispute between Coddington and Wintour often feels reductionist, as it is often more anecdotal than substantial and worthwhile.

In one instance, Coddington decides to incorporate a cameraman in a photo shoot for the issue. His photo needing some airbrushing, and so Wintour breaks the fourth wall and suggests that the man might need to pay a visit to the gym. Coddington, with Wintour off-screen, comforts him, saying he looks fine. Wintour, in spite of her insistence that The Devil Wears Prada is a “silly” movie, lives up to Meryl Streep’s not-so-outrageous portrayal of the Wintour-inspired Miranda Priestly.

Cutler does succeed in penetrating the layers of Wintour. Hailing from a family of venerable British journalists, the editor admits that her siblings think her profession is “silly,” showing a hint of insecurity. But Wintour is no sentimentalist, and these moments are few and far between. They are, however, rare insights into a woman almost as famous as the magazine she makes. Wintour might be icy, but she is decisive and, above all, a wickedly adept editor.

Ice Queen? Maybe just Snow Queen.