“I think I got left behind somewhere; I seem to be the only romantic left.”

-Grace Coddington, Creative Director, American Vogue


At the end of the day, Coddington is the real heroine of The September Issue, in part because Anna Wintour remains inscrutable to the end. Wintour's mask never quite comes off; even the one real moment of vulnerability, where she talks about how her civic-minded siblings find what she does for a living absurd seems manufactured, her wistfulness stretched out with the use of sad music and long camera shots of her gazing off into space for a moment. Coddington, by contrast, is not only accessible, but remarkably authentic for someone working in the fashion industry, much less someone who is responsible for the creative direction of American Vogue. You also see that American Vogue is largely a product of Coddington's artistic vision; that without her aesthetic genius, there really would be no magazine.

Go see The September Issue. Even if you don't read Vogue. Even if you're not into fashion. it's kind of a great documentary.