By Amanda Ack, Film Critic
The characters in Whit Stillman’s Metropolitan are quite possibly the most profoundly irritating bunch of post-adolescent brats I’ve ever seen onscreen. They’re spoiled, selfish, and snotty, with chips on their shoulders and fluff in their brains. By rights, the film should be too grating to sit through. There’s something about it that makes it not only tolerable but thoroughly enjoyable, thanks to Mr. Stillman’s knack for imbuing his characters with just enough vulnerability to make them worth the trouble of watching them.
Released in 1990, the film follows “Tom Townsend” (Edward Clements), a would-be Socialist radical from humble beginnings who finds himself thrown into a group of wealthy twenty-somethings as they make their way through the Christmas debutante season. The group meets nightly, discussing such lofty subjects as Fourier’s socialism and sexual conquests. As Tom finds himself drawn further and further into a crowd to which he doesn’t quite belong, he learns a great deal about life, love, and growing up.
Mr. Stillman’s Oscar-nominated screenplay is a masterpiece. The charmingly neurotic writing, coupled with the age of the characters, gives the film a delightful Woody-Allen-meets-John-Hughes feel. What’s more, Mr. Stillman is all too familiar with the emotional trials and tribulations of the collegiate set, and he knows exactly when and how to reveal the childish insecurities beneath polished exteriors.
As for the actors, they’re more than capable of carrying Mr. Stillman’s dialogue without letting it run away with them. Mr. Clements’ Tom is the perfect antihero, alternating between bravado and anxiety with ease.
It’s Chris Eigeman, though, who steals the show. As “Nick Smith,” a slimy little weasel who fancies himself a sort of Gatsby to Tom’s Nick Carraway, he’s got a certain oblivious charm that inspires both disdain and pity.
Metropolitan is quite a treat for those who like their coming-of-age stories with a side of class commentary. Would you want to spend a real-life hour and a half with its characters? Probably not. Onscreen, however, they’re infinitely watchable.
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