Movie Trailer Review: August

Web 2.0 is booming so rapidly right now that many observers can’t help but remember all the hype leading up to the crash that took down startups looking to capitalize on Web 1.0. I work in the industry, and one question I get a lot from people outside it is, “Do you think we’re headed for another crash? Is this another bubble?”

Made to order for the syllabus of some future film survey course, August will be discussed in terms of both the era in which it takes place, and the era in which it was released. The public is anxious about where the Internet is taking us. Should we all be jumping in head first? Should we be running for the hills? Do you, yes you, have a fortune just waiting to be made online if you do X, Y, and Z? Do you have the guts to find out?

For those who don’t (99% of the population), it’s cathartic to watch a tragedy about someone who does. If
he fails, it’s a chance to say “Whew, glad that didn’t happen to me.” If he succeeds, then it’s an inspiring story promoting the perserverence of human ambition.

“You’ve got to have a little faith,” says Hartnett’s character at the end of the trailer. This means that the movie has a happy ending; you don’t end a trailer talking about having faith if you’re not going to end the movie promoting the same idea. That doesn’t mean that the fictional company survives. More likely (and probably a better story) it sinks, but he learns valuable lessons, he’s still young, he gets the girl anyway, etc.

David Bowie is carefully cast here. What he’s best known for at this point is successfully riding out changes. Temporary cool comes and goes, but Bowie remains. Where will Josh Hartnett be twenty years from now? Bowie is sizing him up, and Bowie will be right. We pay for the movie partly because we want to see the verdict.

August Trailer

Dreyfuss photo by Lois Siegel