Pros: An offbeat comedy that’s a welcome return for Whit Stillman.
Cons: If this isn’t your style of film, you might have some trouble warming to it.
Ending his thirteen-year directorial silence, Whit Stillman returns to filmmaking with Damsels in Distress, his first self-written and self-directed feature film since his cult classic, The Last Days of Disco.
This offbeat comedy follows Greta Gerwig as Violet, the dynamic leader and head supervisor of an East Coast College's teenage suicide prevention centre and her two devoted minions: the ditzy Heather (Carrie Maclemore) and the self-assured Rose (Megalyn Echikunwoke).
The pastel-coloured trio dedicate themselves to the rescuing of their fellow pupils from the depression, grunge and general low-standards that they believe inflict their school by offering guidance and general support to their fellow pupils and dishing out complimentary scented soaps to the smelly culprits of the girls’ daily ‘nasal shocks’.
When new girl Lily (played by Analeigh Tipton) arrives on campus, spotting her a mile off, Violet takes her under her wing and into her clique, introducing her into their ‘urban haute bourgeoisie’ lifestyle - which Stillman has a knack for exposing, first demonstrated in his 1990 film, Metropolitan - that evolves around helping their community for the greater good and general teenage elitist problems involving potential suitors and self-identity.
The film is comical to watch, with most of the witty one-liners falling out of the mouth of Violet, who believes and justifies her decisions of handing out complimentary doughnuts to at-risk and depressive students and encouraging their tap-dancing as suitable therapies to promote their wellbeing.
From first glance, Damsels in Distress looks like your average run-of-the-mill high-school rom-com, but trust that it’s not. When the cracks begin to show in the girls’ seemingly sorted lives, we are presented with a quirky-style of filmmaking that has us sympathising with the girls and cheering them on, as they demonstrate the inward confidence and identity struggles that are masked by their self-asserted demeanours.
Told in a chaptered format, this film is a unique and pared-down narration of problems surrounding America’s teenage elite and although it might not suit everyone’s tastes, it’s a welcome return for Stillman – the voice of America’s independent cinema – who is now armed with another cult-classic under his belt.
Released: 27th April 2012.
By Jennifer Tate
Twitter @JennieTate
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