Metropolitan

Watched this film (on DVD) yesterday; found it enjoyable. An independently-made film (1990), it shows lack of polish, somewhat stilted acting, and limited range. Yet it works. Its very lack of gloss and narrow range of shooting makes for an effective study of characters and development of story line.

Four debutantes and three escorts are friends. They emerge from a debutante ball at the Plaza Hotel (a motif recurring through the film), and look for a cab. Hailing one, as three of them approach the Checker cab the male sees another male nearby, expresses reservation at taking his cab, and winds up inviting him to an after-ball get-together. The seven, a self-styled Rat Pack, hang out, smoke, drink, flirt, play bridge, go to other balls and parties. The eighth, brought in to make for an even number and to relieve "an escort shortage," is not as rich as the others, lives on the West Side (which was then not as classy a neighborhood), and espouses contempt for the cycle of parties and debutante balls. Calling himself a Fourierist (Fourier, Charles French social theorist who advocated a reconstruction of society based on communal associations of producers known as phalanges), he denigrates Jane Austen, elevates Lionel Trilling's criticism, and, despite professed objections to the empty-headedness of snobby trust-funders (his parents divorce has landed him and his mother on the West Side, exiling him from the East Side and his inheritance), becomes one of the group.

It is a really good film. Its simplicity, its low budget, make for good cinema: the film can not hide behind special effects, an expensive budget, or pyrotechnics; it has to deliver, or it would simply implode.

This review is on the mark: Video Librarian Reviews Along with Steven Soderbergh's sex, lies, and videotape, writer-director Whit Stillman's 1990 Metropolitan was one of the most acclaimed breakthrough hits in the burgeoning American independent film scene of the late '80s and early '90s. Stillman's original screenplay earned an Oscar nomination, and deservedly so, since his one-of-a-kind study of young, upper-class Manhattan socialites is simultaneously funny, ruthless, and keenly observant about class distinctions that are rarely acknowledged in popular entertainment. Metropolitan serves up a portrait of jaded, over-privileged denizens of New York City's upper-crust society, viewed from the outsider's perspective of Tom (Edward Clements), a middle-class loner who is unexpectedly welcomed into the inner sanctum of preppies, trust-fund brats, and eager-to-marry debutantes during a Christmas break full of gatherings in posh hotels, restaurants, and ballrooms. The film?s strength lies in its combination of scathing wit, literate sophistication, and refreshing lack of judgment against its characters, many of whom could charitably be described as insufferable snobs. Part of the Criterion Collection, this release features a decent transfer and DVD extras that include Stillman's audio commentary (along with editor Christopher Tellefsen and co-stars Chris Eigeman and Taylor Nichols), which serves as a valuable primer on low-budget filmmaking; outtakes with commentary by Stillman; and an essay by New York historian Luc Sante (placing the film in its proper social context). Highly recommended. (J. Shannon) Copyright Video Librarian Reviews 2006.

I also found an interview with the director.