METROPOLITAN A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1998 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Writer and director Whit Stillman, who manages to raise shallowness among rich, white kids to an art form, started the first of his famous trilogy in 1990 with METROPOLITAN. In his first film the kids refer to themselves, derogatorily, as preppies, but by the last picture, THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO, they have been rechristened yuppies, even if none of them will admit to being one. (For the record, the middle picture is BARCELONA, and my personal favorite is THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO.)
Stillman films, with their acerbic humor, are perhaps best on the second and third viewing. With their rapid-fire approach and their subtle dialog, it is easy to miss many of the lines the first time around. Subsequent looks are also helpful since one of the failings of Stillman's casting and his costuming is that most of the actors look alike and, to a lesser extent, so do the actresses. It may be halfway through before the audience learns to tell them all apart.
METROPOLITAN, we are told in the credits, is set in "Manhattan. Xmas Vacation. Not so long ago." A dilettante group of debutantes and their collective beaus are meeting for one of the many private parties during the social season. After the official balls, they gather to make small talk about large issues and generally gossip among themselves. They argue the fine points of 19th century socialism, while living a life of absolute luxury. They are all elitists, united in their agreement that they hate pretentious people and that they certainly aren't ones themselves.
Although they are cynical to varying degrees, none is more so than Nick Smith, played as the perfect rich snob by Christopher Eigeman, who has starred in all three of Stillman's films. While others worry about the possibility of failure, he plans on it, and, with his lack of ambition, it seems likely. "I've always planned to be a failure anyway, that's why I plan to marry an extremely wealthy woman," he announces to no one's surprise.
The odd man out is their resident radical, Tom Townsend (Edward Clements), who is the only one without independently wealthy parents and the only one in - aghast! - a rented tux. Tom, not very convincingly, goes on and on discussing his worries about the downtrodden in life, which upsets Nick. "It's a tiny bit arrogant of people to go around worrying about those less fortunate," Nick royally declares.
Audrey Rouget (Carolyn Farina) has her eyes set on Tom, who pines instead for the extremely popular and unobtainable Serena Slocum (Ellia Thompson). Tom ridicules Audrey for liking Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. He points out that, even though he's never read it, it is universally agreed to be a mediocre book. "You don't have to read a book to have an opinion," he argues. He goes on to say that he doesn't read any novels but prefers to read literary criticism instead. "That way you get both the novelists' ideas as well as the critics' thinking," he reasons.
"Playing strip poker with an exhibitionist somehow takes the challenge out of it," Nick complains after one of the women throws a hand so she can take off another item of her clothing. As they slowly undress, they alternatively talk about trust funds and class struggles, but Stillman cuts away before the scene gets the least bit risque.
Using dreamy jazz music in the scene transitions, Stillman makes the story go down as smoothly as a white wine. His characters may get on your nerves sometimes, but he remains hopelessly in love with them and all of their foibles. Like all his movies, METROPOLITAN has the stagy talkiness of a play, but a fascinating one.
The story's only serious scene occurs when the group plays a game of truth, in which the loser must answer any question, no matter how embarrassing. "People see the harm in what excessive candor can do," Audrey argues correctly, knowing that someone could get hurt and that that someone could be her.
When one of their ranks, Jane Clark (Allison Parisi), dares to go out on a date alone, the rest are dumbstruck. Used to nothing but group social activities, they worry that their lifestyles are changing forever.
As in THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO, in which the leads lament disco's demise, the characters in METROPOLITAN figure that this may be the last season for debutante balls and the end of an era. "Men are dates, date substitutes or potential dates," Fred Neff (Bryan Leder) complains of their new world order. "I find that dehumanizing."
METROPOLITAN runs 1:38. It is rated PG-13 for some profanity and for adult themes, and it would be fine for teenagers.
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