TALK ABOUT MOVIES
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Contents © 2005
by Jim Holman.
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TALK ABOUT MOVIES
April 2005
METROPOLITAN
Directed by Whit Stillman. Starring Carolyn Farnia, Edward Clements, Chris Eigeman. 1990, 98 minutes, Color, English, USA. Available at Kensington Video.
Matthew: Nick is a flawed prophet; he's the film's moral center. He chides Tom for his reverse-snobbery — looking down on rich people and their extravagance — but at the same time, he brings Tom into the wealthier crowd and stands up for him when Charlie goes overboard. When Tom's father abandons him, Nick consoles him with the truth. Nick stands up to Von Sloneker about his sexual predation.
Ernie: I think Nick's a bit obsessed with Von Sloneker because he's a womanizer himself, but Von Sloneker is better at it. Nick is threatened by him. Whenever he refers to him, he says, "The titled aristocracy are the scum of the earth." When the girl says, "What about untitled aristocracy? Do you think they're the scum of the earth?" Nick answers, "No, that would be self-hatred." I think that's done to show Nick and Von Sloneker are the same guy.
Matthew: I disagree. When Nick calls Cynthia a slut, he means it as a term of moral condemnation.
Ernie: But then he has sex with her!
Matthew: Yes, but after he sleeps with her and Isabel calls him a hypocrite, he replies, sincerely, "That's not hypocrisy. That's sin."
Ernie: That struck me as flippant, not sincere. In fact, sleeping with her was both sin and hypocrisy.
Mathew: I thought the film was clever in its allusions to Austen. At the beginning, Tom quotes Lionel Trilling mocking Mansfield Park for being about the immorality of a bunch of kids putting on a play. Audrey disagrees. The film starts with a light tone about morality, but it gets heavier, even if the tone of the movie stays light. Tom gradually comes to realize the devastation brought upon his family by divorce. And the threat posed by Von Sloneker goes from an over-the-top story told by Nick to a credible threat to Audrey's virtue. When Tom and Charlie go to save Audrey, the scene encapsulates the movie — goofy with a serious underbelly.
Ernie: I think it's dangerous to explicitly compare one's art to Jane Austen's. It invites unfavorable comparisons.