Metropolitan (1990)
Criterion Collection

Read more

One of the great American independent films of the 1990s, the surprise hit Metropolitan by writer-director WHIT STILLMAN (Damsels in Distress) is a sparkling comedic chronicle of a middle-class young man’s romantic misadventures in New York City’s debutante society. Stillman’s deft, literate dialogue and hilariously highbrow observations earned this first film an Academy Award nomination for best original screenplay. Alongside the wit and sophistication, though, lies a tender tale of adolescent anxiety.

One of the great American independent films of the 1990s, the surprise hit Metropolitan by writer-director Whit Stillman (Damsels in Distress) is a sparkling comedic chronicle of a middle-class young man's romantic misadventures in New York City's debutante society. Stillman's deft, literate dialogue and hilariously highbrow observations earned this first film an Academy Award nomination for best original screenplay. Alongside the wit and sophistication, though, lies a tender tale of adolescent anxiety.