Filmmakers who only make
movies when they feel they have something worth saying are a rarity in this
age, where it seems the goal is to see how quickly one can be hired to helm
the latest, biggest superhero opus. Whit Stillman has only made four movies since
1990, including his hyphenate debut, Metropolitan, which was released that year,
and rather amazingly snagged an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay. It
lost to Ghost, which, from today’s perspective, is a travesty, but typical of
the Academy nevertheless. 50% of Stillman’s filmic oeuvre, including the
aforementioned Metropolitan, along with The Last Days of Disco (1998), both hit
Blu-ray last week, and from the fine folks at Criterion, no less.
When I think of Stillman’s
films, what I think of first is the speech; the way the characters speak. His
films are drunk on subtle affectations of the English language (but not
necessarily the language itself). It isn’t that, in a Stillman movie, what the
characters have to say isn’t important, but rather that you’ll find yourself
almost hypnotized by the manner in which they’re saying it. No doubt some
viewers will be just plain annoyed by the incessant, rhythmic chatter. Those
people will not find the next film of his any more tolerable, because there’s no
question that a Stillman film is a Stillman film. I’d use the word unique if
not for the fact there are now four of them. Now, all of that said, Stillman’s
dialogue is second to none, and positively crackling when heard within the
context of the situations he devises, and coming from the mouths of the
memorable characters he’s created.
Metropolitan follows a group
of young, rich people living in New
York City during Debutante Season, which apparently
coincides with Christmas break. Now you must understand that I was born and
raised in small town Missouri, and have spent
my adult life in Texas.
There is no reason on this Earth or any other why I should care about these
people and their cushy situation, and yet Stillman writes characters that
interest, and therefore their situations are of interest as well. The kids in
Metropolitan are interesting because they genuinely appear to struggle with
their existence. It’s easy to write privileged folk as shallow. Most do. What’s
tough is giving them some sort of depth, which Stillman does. Into their
privileged lives stumbles Tom Townsend (Edward Clements), who is not
privileged, nor is he rich. The group accepts him (some quicker than others),
as they are basically decent people and they recognize a kindred spirit in Tom,
and the film showcases one complex conversation, argument and/or debate after
another, all draped in some wraparound, romantic entanglements.
I’ll never quite understand
why Metropolitan is reminiscent of some John Hughes movie from an alternate
universe, yet for me it is. It’s sort of like The Breakfast Club, if that movie had
little interest in appealing to the masses. I think Stillman wants his movies
to be appreciated and liked (any filmmaker who’ll tell you otherwise is lying),
but I think he also knows there’s a specific audience for his work. I’ll not
venture out and guess who that audience is, because by my own admission I don’t
feel as though I’m part of the target, and yet I’m endlessly amused by his
universe. It’s anyone’s guess who’ll like a Whit Stillman movie, and the only
way to find out is to dive in and see if it’s a club you want to join.
 |
| Chris Eigeman |
Some years after Metropolitan,
in 1994, Stillman unveiled Barcelona,
which starred Chris Eigeman and Taylor Nichols, both of whom had made their big
screen debuts in Metropolitan. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that someday
soon, Barcelona also gets the Criterion treatment. Four years after Barcelona came The Last Days of
Disco, which ended up being Stillman’s last movie until 2011, when he brought
us Damsels in Distress, which I must confess I have not yet seen, as it played
for only a week in San Antonio, but is hitting DVD and Blu-ray in September.
But we’re here to talk about
Disco, and The Last Days of it. Much of what I wrote about Metropolitan applies
to this movie as well, except that Stillman had a bigger budget and access to
all sorts of folks who at the time were up and coming Hollywood talent: Chloë
Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, Matt Ross, Robert Sean Leonard, and Matt Keeslar to name a few, as well as Chris Eigeman,
the De Niro to Stillman’s Scorsese for the third time in a row. Or the MacLachlan
to his Lynch. Someday, for a lesser known director and actor combo, I will
hopefully say “The Eigeman to his Stillman.” Disco follows a group of
twentysomethings in the year 1980, or maybe 1981, as they navigate their way
through the changing times. Their self-involved dialogue covers their places in
the world to sexuality to careers to, of course, disco. With a Whit Stillman
movie, you can’t always tell when he’s taking his characters seriously and
when’s having a laugh at their expense. Such lines are blurred, and that’s a
big part of the charm of his style.
What I believe to be the
triumph of Disco, is that despite packing the movie from one end to the other
with disco hits, and regardless of the fact that much of the film takes place
in a Studio 54-like nightclub, the movie never once, not even for a second,
feels in the least bit kitschy. It is a Whit Stillman movie first and foremost,
and his style never gets swallowed by the tacky surroundings, nor does he as a
writer or director ever rely on nostalgia or wallow in excess or wink through
the camera. The title of the film is wholly accurate, and yet it’s a film that shouldn't be judged by that title. Simply put, you may have no interest in
disco yet still appreciate this work. No mean feat, no lack of vision and
talent.
It’s tempting to suggest
that these two movies would make a fine double feature, but I won’t. The day these
discs arrived I watched Metropolitan, and let it wash over me. A few hours
later I put on Disco, and within ten minutes I realized that I couldn’t
watch two Stillman movies in one day. They’re too thick for that. The movies
leave the viewer with so much to think about, that one cannot simply move on to
the next one. I ended up putting a week or so between the viewings and Disco
felt all the stronger for it. It was perhaps the most rewarding viewing of the
movie I’d ever had. In some ways the same can be said for the Metropolitan
viewing, simply because I’ve never seen it look as nice as it does on this
Blu-ray. (It may even have been the first time I saw it in its proper aspect
ratio.) Disco has always looked reasonably good, so this presentation wasn’t
exactly revelatory, but a nice Criterion presentation nevertheless. (If you're interested in Blu-ray screencaps, I recommend looking at the articles at DVD Beaver here and here.)
 |
| Whit Stillman |
Blu-ray Extras: The star
extras here are undoubtedly the commentary tracks. Metropolitan features
Stillman, editor Christopher Tellefsen, as well as Chris Eigeman and Taylor Nichols.
It’s an informative track to be sure, and certainly well worth a listen if
you’ve any interest in grass roots independent filmmaking (indeed, Metropolitan is one of the poster children for true indie filmmaking).
The Disco track features Stillman, Eigeman, and Sevigny and by comparison is a
great deal more fun and flirty, due to Sevigny’s lively presence.
Additionally, Metropolitan
offers up some deleted scenes and some alternate casting choices, with
optional commentary, as well as a booklet with an essay by Luc Sante. Disco
also has some deleted scenes with optional commentary, an audio recording of
Stillman reading a chapter from his book, The Last Days of Disco, With
Cocktails at Petrossian Afterwards, which was published a couple years after
the movie was released. There’s also a behind-the-scene promo featurette from
1998, a stills gallery, and a trailer, as well as a booklet with an essay by
David Schickler.
