"August" is a drama about the dot.com bust. Josh Hartnett stars as Tom, the CEO of Landshark. He's the "guy who knows money" behind the business, while his brother Joshua is the technical brains. The movie takes place in August of 2001. Landshark is presented as having an immensely successful IPO, even though the IPO is in early 2001, after the dot.com bubble burst in late 2000. By August, though things have gone sour, and Tom is desperately trying to get the company through their lock up period, so he and his brother can be more than millionaires on paper.
"August" clicks nicely on a couple of levels. The script is fast paced, and features a driving soundtrack that really conveys Tom's desperation as he furiously tries to find some way to keep control of his quickly disintegrating situation. Hartnett (who I've never really been a fan of) is also surprisingly good in this role. At first, it's easy to dismiss Tom as all flash and no substance, but as the movie progresses, you slowly start to see his hidden depths.
Unfortunately, I felt the rest of the cast was fairly uninspiring, and the script had two subplots that were poorly executed. The movie spends a little time exploring Tom's relationship with his parents and his attempt to win an ex-girlfriend back. In both cases, it felt like the movie should have just completely dropped those subplots, or spent more time with them so they could be properly explored.
I'm sure I enjoyed "August" partially because I always see a little bit of my experience at Wizards of the Coast when I see a movie or article about the dot.com craze. If the dot.com bust is a topic that interest you, I think you'll enjoy "August," but if that's not your cup of tea, I'd recommend you skip this one.
Final Grade: B
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