September

Among the most misunderstood—and under-seen—films of Woody Allen’s career, this homage to Chekhov is a contained, moody, yet emotionally expansive chamber drama, set entirely indoors in a country house upstate (though filmed entirely at Astoria-Kaufman Studios in Queens!). The stellar cast includes Elaine Stritch as a flamboyant former movie star and controlling mother, Mia Farrow as her clinically depressed daughter, and Dianne Wiest as the well-meaning family friend visiting for the weekend, though the real star is Carlo Di Palma’s camerawork, peeking around the corners and down the narrow crevices of the film’s brilliantly claustrophobic set. A mid-film electrical blackout ranks among the most quietly atmospheric scenes of Allen’s career.