Metropolitan (1990)

Director:

Whit Stillman

Writer:

Whit Stillman

Release Date:

3 August 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Finally... A film about the downwardly mobile.

Plot:

A group of young upper-class Manhattanites are blithely passing through the gala debutante season, when an unusual outsider joins them and stirs them up.

Plot Keywords:

Upper Class | New York | Debutante | Apartment | Class Differences

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Carolyn Farina	...	Audrey Rouget
Edward Clements	...	Tom Townsend
Chris Eigeman	...	Nick Smith (as Christopher Eigeman)
Taylor Nichols	...	Charlie Black
Allison Parisi	...	Jane Clark
Dylan Hundley	...	Sally Fowler
Isabel Gillies	...	Cynthia McLean
Bryan Leder	...	Fred Neff
Will Kempe	...	Rick Von Sloneker
Ellia Thompson	...	Serena Slocum (as Elizabeth Thompson)
Stephen Uys	...	Victor Lemley
Roger W. Kirby	...	Man at Bar (Dick Edwards)
Alice Connorton	...	Mrs. Townsend
Linda Gillies	...	Mrs. Rouget
John Lynch	...	Allen Green (as John Lynch)
Donal Lardner Ward	...	North Greenwich Yuppie (Sam Elliott)
Thomas R. Voth	...	Cab Driver (as Tom Voth)
Caroline Bennett	...	Sabina Johnson (Texas Deb)
Francis Creighton	...	Cadet George Frawley
Joel S. Schreiber	...	A.T. Harris Salesman
Catherine Atsen	...	Catherine Atsen Clinician
J. Harden Rose	...	TV Voice of Debutante Ball (voice)
Victoria Chickering	...	SFRP Friend (Early-nighter)
Blayne Perry	...	SFRP Friend (Early-nighter)
Kevin Schack	...	SFRP Friend (Early-nighter)
Tina Thornton	...	SFRP Friend (Early-nighter)
Hank Poley	...	SFRP Friend (Early-nighter)
Andrew Lyle	...	SFRP Friend (Early-nighter)

Directed by
Whit Stillman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Whit Stillman

Produced by
Brian Greenbaum	....	line producer
Whit Stillman	....	producer
Peter Wentworth	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Tom Judson
Mark Suozzo

Cinematography by
John Thomas

Film Editing by
Christopher Tellefsen

Costume Design by
Mary Jane Fort

Makeup Department
Susan Dexter	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Larry Eudene	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Antonio L. Arroyo	....	sound
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Tom Foligno	....	sound editor
Jay Kessel	....	sound editor
George A. Lara	....	foley mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
John DeSimone	....	best boy
Joe Foley	....	key grip
William MacGhee	....	gaffer
William J. McDevitt	....	key grip

Editorial Department
Jacqueline Delibes	....	assistant editor
Lauren Waldron	....	apprentice editor

Music Department
Jock Davis	....	composer: additional music

Other crew
Diane Lanthrop	....	cha-cha coordinator
Scott Peterson	....	script supervisor
Pam Shaw	....	titles design

Production Companies

• Allagash Films
• Westerly Film

Distributors

• New Line Cinema (1990) (USA) (theatrical)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1991) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Forum Distribution (1990) (France) (theatrical)
• Transmundo Films (1994) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Aquarius TV (1998) (Greece) (TV)
• Criterion Collection, The (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• Transmundo Home Video (THV) (1994) (Argentina) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Hand Held Films  camera equipment provided by

Also Known As:

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | UK:15 | Australia:PG | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Cornwall, New York, USA

Company:

Allagash Films

Trivia:

The female lead of Audrey was cast after the director's wife ran into Carolyn Farina while shopping at the Macy's store where Farina was working at the perfume section. She had no previous acting experience.

Quotes:

Audrey Rouget:People see the harm in what excessive candor can do.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cinefile: Made in the USA (1993) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I Need Love

One of the best independant films of the 90s......

After reviewing some of the comments written by other contributors I felt I needed to clarify some issues raised.

This was an independently produced film made with relatively unknown actors and a limited budget.

That being said, the writing is a cut above most films put out to the public and the art direction (utilizing real apartments and settings) captures nicely the buffered world of New York City's Upper East Side.

The acting style though it may appear to be arch and affected actually captures quite well the voice patterns and intonations of those people it portrays.

The film is truly a small gem. The audience gets a glimpse into the lives of a privileged set of college aged "preppy" Manhattan-ites. Lots of fun music helps keep the scenes jaunty and most of the actors are well cast.

The film while intellectual in bent, plays most of the scenes decidedly tongue in cheek which keeps the movie from feeling pretentious.

The movie is a baby Hannah and Her Sisters if you will. I also enjoyed the director/writer's two other films to date, Barcelona and The Last Days of Disco.