BARCELONA
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (0 to 10): 8.0
Date Released: 7/29/94 Running Length: 1:41 Rated: PG-13 (Sexual situations, mature themes)
Starring: Taylor Nichols, Chris Eigeman, Tushka Bergen,
Mira Sorvino, Pep Munne, Hellena Schmied
Director: Whit Stillman
Producer: Whit Stillman
Screenplay: Whit Stillman
Cinematography: John Thomas
Music: Mark Suozzo
Released by Fine Line Features
"BARCELONA had its inception in 1983.... It was while editing METROPOLITAN that I started reconsidering.... I found myself losing interest in METROPOLITAN's nominal protagonist, the male-ingenue Tom, and wanting to see more of the characters Taylor Nichols and Chris Eigeman played...I had written METROPOLITAN under the conviction that life is essentially an eventless affair and to make a movie full plot and incident would be a false and unauthentic repetition of genre movie cliches. In the interval between the two scripts I changed my mind: life does have its melodramatic turns, and, while melodramatic events might not seem especially interesting in themselves, they could provide another prism to examine the lives of the characters affected." - Whit Stillman, writer/director/producer of BARCELONA
In BARCELONA, nothing goes quite as you expect it to. In a broad sense, certain things are played out as anticipated, but there are always little quirks to be aware of. Filtered through a somewhat detached and ironic perspective, this film is the distillation of an intriguing blend of romantic comedy, satire, drama, and philosophy.
Whit Stillman's sophomore film seems a little like what one might expect if British director Mike Newell and French filmmaker Eric Rohmer combined on a project. BARCELONA is replete with the loaded, pithy dialogue that Rohmer is known for, as well as the dry wit which has marked Newell's more recent pictures. In fact, elements of the epilogue are oddly similar to the fourth act of FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, including the careful veiling of the bride's identity.
The first half of this movie races past at a frantic pace, its momentum gained more through its nearly-constant dialogue than because of any significant plot development. Things happen, to be sure, but everything is on a small scale. During the "last decade of the Cold War," we're introduced to Ted Boynton (Taylor Nichols), an American salesman based in Barcelona, and his obnoxious cousin Fred (Chris Eigeman), a Navy officer. Fred drops in on Ted unexpectedly, announcing that he intends to stay for a while. Ted, too much the gentleman to say "no" to family, endures the unwanted intrusion. Despite a fair bit of friction, the two manage to coexist, going out on the town in search of love (in Ted's case) and sex (in Fred's). What they find is a group of attractive trade-fair girls and a match for each of them--or so it seems.
The best moments in BARCELONA involve snippets of offbeat conversations about mundane facets of life. Some of these--like Fred's musings about the "correct" way to shave--are completely facetious, but others are designed to provoke a moment's genuine thought, such as Ted and Ramon's opposing views on the importance of physical beauty.
Unfortunately, the second half of the movie can't match the level of what preceded it. As the plot gains prominence, some of BARCELONA's unique freshness dissipates. For the last thirty minutes, the script settles into a fairly routine dramatic pattern.
The acting is done mostly by low-profile performers. Taylor Nichols and Chris Eigeman both appeared in Stillman's METROPOLITAN and Mira Sorvino (the daughter of Paul Sorvino) had her screen debut in AMONGST FRIENDS. Their work is consistently strong, especially that of the two leads, who manage to bring life to a modern-day ODD COUPLE.
BARCELONA is one of those movies that contains just about everything (and a lot of it) except action. The plot is a vehicle for the characters (and their intelligently-scripted dialogue)--a method, as Stillman says, of viewing different aspects of Ted and Fred's lives. However, while the film's initial charm may lie in its humorous perspective of this pair of mismatched cousins, its lasting impression (for men at least) may involve wondering exactly how to hold the razor.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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