Movie Notes: Metropolitan

February 4th, 2010

= 5 stars

Starring Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, Chris Eigeman
Directed by Whit Stillman

Synopsis

A circle of young, upper East side socialites enter debutante season, and due to a shortage of males,  welcome newcomer Edward (Tom Townsend) into their circle.

The Good

• Things get infinitely more interesting as shy Audrey (Carolyn Farina) falls for the West side oddball Edward (Tom Townsend), of a different social class and has the least to gain from hanging around with these uppity folks.
• Depicts a subtly hilarious situation of upper class ennui: these kids have nothing to do, and therefore engage in socialized rituals of dressing up, dancing, drinking, and playing truth or dare type games in preparation for an adulthood doing pretty much exactly this. When the characters resort to petty romantic squabbles, we may as well be watching a period piece set in the Victorian era.
• Charlie’s thesis of “UHB” or “Urban Haute Bourgeoisie” — their generation of inherited money will be the last, doomed to extinction, because they produce nothing and only know how to behave, without any understanding of what their rituals actually mean.
• The cast is composed of unknowns, yet all fit their parts astoundingly well (Chris Eigman is tops as aloof and sarcastic Nick). This was also the writing and directing debut of Whit Stillman.

The Bad

• The ending feels a bit awkward given all the preceding excellence — some buildup to a shocking reveal which isn’t exactly all that. I’ll likely be more forgiving on a second viewing.

Conclusion

Metropolitan is an excellent movie I’ll creep one foot on a limb and give it five stars for the reasons above and one additional reason: upon its end, I felt like watching it again. I’m confident the smart-alecky dialogue, strong characters, and the overall situation will stand the test of time — even more so if Charlie proves right and the “UHB” die off. I certainly hope so, yet I doubt it.

IMDB: Metropolitan
Wikipedia: Metropolitan
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%