Metropolitan (1990) ****

I've figured out that Whit Stillman's recurring theme is the fin de seicle, or “end of the era.” The term most commonly refers to the end of the nineteenth century, but I think it's an artful way to describe the unraveling of any situation. In Stillman's "Barcelona," a pair of cousins enjoy a thriving social life in the titular city, going out with a coterie of beautiful, Spanish girls. In "The Last Days of Disco," a group of friends enjoys the disco nightlife of New York City. Whether with a whimper or with a bang, these situations come to an end, forcing the characters to move on to something new.

In “Metropolitan,” Stillman's first film, college student Tom Townsend (Edward Clements) stumbles into a nice situation. With his prep-school background, Tom knows a few moneyed, New York people, but he himself has limited means after his parents' divorce. In a rented tux, he attends a debutante ball on a whim, and winds up getting invited to a swank after-party. This small group of wealthy college students welcome Tom into their group, and they spend night after night talking and drinking, drinking and talking.

What do they talk about? They talk about the kind of things young people always talk about. They talk about books and philosophy. (“You don't have to have read a book to have an opinion on it.”) They talk about the travails of being who they are, the Urban Haute Bourgoisie. (“I can't believe you're actually going to play bridge, such a cliché of bourgeois life.” “That's exactly why I play. I don't enjoy it one bit.”) They talk about other people. (“Rick Von Slonecker is tall, rich, good looking, stupid, dishonest, conceited, a bully, liar, drunk and a thief, an egomaniac, and probably psychotic. In short, highly attractive to women.”)

Does all this chit-chat get tiresome? Honestly, it does not. Stillman's script is so witty and the cast so invested in playing it straight, that it's just one hilarious line after another. It's also a good story. I've made it sound like nothing happens, but in the midst of all this talking, Tom grapples with the challenges of being the poor one in the group, while his new friends consider the question of how to be a success when they were born into money. Another friend (Chris Eigeman) faces the possibility of being disinherited. Also, there's a love triangle. Not to forget that fin de seicle motif; the group starts to disintegrate. All of this takes place over the Christmas holiday, a reminder of how intense brief spans of time can be when you're young.

Every serious film fan needs to see at least one movie by Whit Stillman, and this is as good a place to start as any. Like Tarantino or Scorcese, Stillman makes a distinctive style of film, and if it's your cup of tea, you will love these movies. In their own way, these talky movies are action movies. Talk, after all, is the action that fills most of our lives.

4 stars out of 5