Metropolitan Review
Though Richard_Linklater and Kevin_Smith may get most of the credit for giving birth to the downwardly-mobile post-adolescent talkfests of the '90s independent film boom, writer/director Whit_Stillman's auspicious debut served to establish the other end of the spectrum. Set in an unspecified time "not so long ago," Metropolitan pokes affectionate fun at Stillman's ilk: overeducated East Coast preppies with too much time on their hands, mostly disposable incomes, and concerns both petty and universal. Stillman mocks and evokes Jane_Austen with his mismatched pack of masters and debs who pair off in unlikely couplings, all the while secretly pining for some other member of their extended high-society group. As with Linklater and Smith's films, the dialogue is the true star here: the endlessly hilarious observations about literary criticism and agrarian socialism mask the characters' charming, quaint ignorance of matters of the heart. Stillman evinces stellar performances from his cast of then- (and in most cases, still-) unknowns -- including the ingratiatingly obsessive Edward_Clements and Carolyn_Farina -- and at least one breakout star turn from the irrepressible Christopher_Eigeman, doing for this film what Vince_Vaughn would do for Swingers several years later. Although Metropolitan is a little rough around the edges technically, it's to Stillman's credit -- as well as to cinematographer John_Thomas and editor Christopher_Tellefsen -- that he's able to create a palpable, encased-in-amber atmosphere on such a small budget. Michael Hastings, Rovi
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