*Get "August" on Amazon here*
*Get Josh Hartnett Definitely Wants to Do This: True Stories from a Life in the Screen Trade by Bruce Beresford on Amazon here*
For a while, Josh Hartnett was going to be the Next Big Thing. He was in some high profile films, was good looking, and his fan base was devoted. Somewhere along the way, in between some noticeable misfires ("Hollywood Homicide," "The Black Dahlia"), Hartnett seemed to drop out of sight. He is still working, but reinvented himself as a character actor, and triggered a career upswing. The film "August" seems to be on the trail of this career makeover, where Hartnett proves he can act. Unfortunately, he embodies the kind of character even non-bullies like me would pick on in high school.
Josh is Tom, the cocky CEO of a tech company. His brother, Joshua (a nicely playing Adam Scott) is the tech brains behind the operation- one of those companies where there are lots of people "working" but mostly standing around drinking lattes and making with the snark. On paper, the brothers are worth hundreds of millions of dollars thanks to Landshark (their company), but the bottom falls out of the market and they are soon floundering, trying to salvage anything they can. Tom still lives like he's on top of the world, sure that Landshark will make a comeback (the film makers wisely keep the audience, and many characters, in the dark as to what exactly Landshark does). Tom is also trying to win back Sarrah (Naomie Harris), who has come back to the states after a stay in Europe. The film is set in August of 2001, and while technically it could be called a "9/11" film, the terrorist attacks are never touched on. Instead, the film makers highlight the headlines leading up to that day- Bush's swearing-in, Aaliyah's death in a plane crash, etc.
The script is slow. Darn slow. Lots of techy doublespeak is bandied about, with Tom regurgitating most of it. He sees himself as the ultimate hustler (his speech at the e-symposium), but he keeps sabotaging himself (skipping out on Sarrah's design presentation until the last minute). Brother Josh has a successful domestic life brewing, but Tom still carries on like he is worth three hundred million dollars, bothering his CFO and COO for a Gulfstream jet. The sound design and musical score are both off-putting, but in a good way, as they generate an air of unease during the entire film. Thankfully, they never have Josh or Tom head to the Twin Towers on that fateful day or anything, but some scenes where Tom is walking from Point A to Point B feel odd and unsettling. The direction is also off-kilter, just check out the opening and closing credits.
Hartnett turns in one of his best performances. It's not Oscar worthy- but it is very good. He doesn't overplay it, turning Tom into a bombastic lout. He knows what he's about, what he has, and he's amused that others aren't quite there (yet). Throw in a nice turn by Rip Torn as the boys' father, and David Bowie even pops in during the last few minutes of the film in a role that can only be described as quietly menacing.
"August" is an okay, short (88 minutes) watch if you have nothing better to do.
MPAA rated (R) for very mild physical violence, strong profanity, brief female nudity, sexual content, sexual references, adult situations, alcohol and tobacco use.
