Title: Metropolitan
Year: 1990
Diirector: Whit Stillman
Country: US
Language: English
Made for only $225,000 USD, Metropolitan (1990) was Whit Stillman's debut feature, and the first in a trilogy that include Barcelona (1994) and Last Days of Disco (1998). Stillman was such a green director that he was reading a "How to be a Director" book as he was making this film. He was midway through the book when shooting principal photography began.
In the film, a group of young upper-class Manhattanites are blithely passing through the gala debutante season, when an unusual outsider (Edward Clements) joins them and stirs them up.
Metropolitan is a witty, dry, coming-of-age costume drama that evokes the past - being set during the Christmas season also stirs up feelings of nostalgia - as a deliberate way to explore current issues. Dialogue driven, we meet characters who feel like they are on the cusp of a dying culture and we see how the weight of their new responsibilities as soon-to-be adults changes them.
The complex interplay between characters assists in unfolding the "plot" (if you can call it that) of the picture. The cinematography, editing and lighting add to incredible ambiance and charm of Stillman's work. Metropolitan explores the the themes of other 90's existential films, but in a much more subdued mature way.
The actors deserve much acclaim for their work in Metropolitan. Most of them were unknowns, this being their onscreen debut. Each actor dives into their character & gives a complex multidimensional performance. Bad acting would break this character centered film, but because each actor stands out it makes Metropolitan an instant rewatchable classic.
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