Stars: Edward Clements, Carolyn Farina, Chris Eigeman, Taylor Nichols, Allison Parisi | Written and Directed by Whit Stillman
One might think of Whit Stillman’s minor hit debut as the uptown, Eastside answer to Richard Linklater’s Slacker, which was also released in 1990. Between them they set the template for many a late-century indie: a loose and unfocused narrative peopled by an array of flawed characters discussing life, love, inclusion and exclusion, human existence and God.
The plot ostensibly concerns our sort-of-hero, Tom Townsend (Edward Clements), as he attends a series of preppy parties in various posh apartments in Manhattan. But Tom can’t share a taxi home with the others. He is – gasp! – a “Westsider”, which to a UK audience means he’s not quite as ridiculously wealthy as his friends. This isn’t a late-teen friendship group we normally see on screen. Remember that brilliant tennis club scene in Trading Places?...
One might think of Whit Stillman’s minor hit debut as the uptown, Eastside answer to Richard Linklater’s Slacker, which was also released in 1990. Between them they set the template for many a late-century indie: a loose and unfocused narrative peopled by an array of flawed characters discussing life, love, inclusion and exclusion, human existence and God.
The plot ostensibly concerns our sort-of-hero, Tom Townsend (Edward Clements), as he attends a series of preppy parties in various posh apartments in Manhattan. But Tom can’t share a taxi home with the others. He is – gasp! – a “Westsider”, which to a UK audience means he’s not quite as ridiculously wealthy as his friends. This isn’t a late-teen friendship group we normally see on screen. Remember that brilliant tennis club scene in Trading Places?...
- 5/8/2018
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
When Whit Stillman's "Metropolitan" hit theaters in 1990, it seemed like an overnight success. But the low-budget film about a group of self-proclaimed "urban haute bourgeoisie" in Manhattan hardly had an easy time making it into the world. On the occasion of its 25th anniversary re-release, Indiewire recently spoke to Stillman and cast members Carolyn Farina, Taylor Nichols and Chris Eigeman, who reflected on the challenges -- and joys -- of making the film. Read More: Whit Stillman's 'Metropolitan' to Get 25th Anniversary Re-Release Set "not so long ago" during winter vacation on Manhattan's Upper East Side, "Metropolitan" follows young Ivy League student Tom Townsend (Edward Clements), who falls in with a clique of upper-crust preppies (portrayed by Farina, Nichols, Eigeman, Bryan Leder, Will Kempe, Elizabeth Thompson, Dylan Hundley, Isabel Gillies and Allison Parisi) who attend winter debutante balls. The low-budget film shot in borrowed...
- 8/6/2015
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
Charlie: Do you know the film, "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise?" When I first saw that title, I though, "Finally, someone is going to tell the truth about the bourgeoisie." What a disappointment. It would be hard to imagine a less fair or accurate portrait.
Cynthia: Well of course, Bunuel is a surrealist. Despising the bourgeoisie is part of their credo.
Nick: (disgusted) Where do they get off?
Charlie: The truth is the bourgeoisie does have a lot of charm.
Nick: Of course it does, the surrealists were just a bunch of social climbers.
- Whit Stillman, "Metropolitan"
Famously dubbed the “the Wasp Woody Allen” and the “Dickens of people with too much inner life” by reviewers and critics when his comedy-of-manners indie pictures arrived in the early 1990s, Whit Stillman’s ironic, clever and urbane examinations of upward and downward social mobility and the shallow concerns and preoccupations of the young,...
Cynthia: Well of course, Bunuel is a surrealist. Despising the bourgeoisie is part of their credo.
Nick: (disgusted) Where do they get off?
Charlie: The truth is the bourgeoisie does have a lot of charm.
Nick: Of course it does, the surrealists were just a bunch of social climbers.
- Whit Stillman, "Metropolitan"
Famously dubbed the “the Wasp Woody Allen” and the “Dickens of people with too much inner life” by reviewers and critics when his comedy-of-manners indie pictures arrived in the early 1990s, Whit Stillman’s ironic, clever and urbane examinations of upward and downward social mobility and the shallow concerns and preoccupations of the young,...
- 4/6/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
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