I'd been searching on cable TV for Whit Stillman's 1990 film "Metropolitan" ever since its 25th anniversary re-release in 2015.
At last I found it Thursday on the Showtime cable channel, which is offering a free week, I suppose in hopes of gaining new subscribers among those homebound by the coronavirus.
The films with their over-educated preppies and their affected, quirky speech, are one of my secret pleasures. I particularly like Stillman's trilogy "Metropolitan," "Barcelona" and "The Last Days of Disco."
Reminiscent of sophisticated comedies from the 1930s, the three films directed and written by Stillman portray an exotic species of spoiled young people struggling to adjust to changing times. Stillman's funny dialogue could come from old New Yorker cartoons. The characters' longing for a lost age of glamour and beauty makes them sympathetic.
Produced with a small budget and a cast of unknown actors , "Metropolitan" gained a cult following and became an unexpected hit. Stillman's first movie, it inspired the independent film movement and garnered Stillman an Academy Award nomination for best original script.
The film shows a group of disaffected young socialites going to a round of balls and parties during New York City's debutante season. They call themselves "the Sally Fowler Rat Pack," for the young woman whose glitzy Upper East Side apartment becomes their nightly headquarters.
With little action, the film consists of witty conversation among the "urban haute bourgeoise," as one character brands his group. They flock from high-society places like the Plaza and St. Regis to sumptuous townhomes, staying up all night.
The young men and women strive to uphold upper-class traditions, wearing tuxedos and gorgeous evening gowns. They attend Ivy League schools, read serious literature such and are familiar with European travel. They drop names like Jane Austen and Lionel Trilling. Despite their pretensions, snobbery and narcissism, they remain appealing.
Cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, dancing and casual sex help them allay their anxiety that their class, which once ruled the country, is in decline. Drawn to socialist thinkers like Charles Fourier and avant garde writers, the young men are anxious about their futures, realizing they might have to find unappealing jobs. The young women are bored with the males’ incessant chatter and self-absorption. For all the comedy of their sheltered lives, a real despair shadows them.
But the movie ends with the knowledge that they'll find themselves when their enchanted world comes to an end.
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