» Whit Stillman

Julia Magnet does a piece on Whit Stillman's delightful trilogy (Last Days of Disco, Barcelona, Metropolitan) of social manner comedies. He is the cinematic Jane Austen for Generation X. This was only just published this winter. Seeing how these movies were made in the '90's, it makes me wonder what Stillman has been up to. Here is Phil Gyford's website dedicated to Stillman.

Some favorite lines from Barcelona:

Fred : Maybe you can clarify something for me. Since I've been, you know, waiting for the fleet to show up, I've read a lot, and...
Ted : Really?
Fred : And one of the things that keeps popping up is this about "subtext." Plays, novels, songs - they all have a "subtext," which I take to mean a hidden message or import of some kind. So subtext we know. But what do you call the message or meaning that's right there on the surface, completely open and obvious? They never talk about that. What do you call what's above the subtext?
Ted : The text.
Fred : OK, that's right, but they never talk about that.

Okay, I can't help it, here are a few more:

Ted Boynton : Positive thinking is fine in theory. But whenever I try it on a systematic basis... I end up really depressed.

And:

Marta : You seem very intelligent for an American.
Fred : Well, I'm not.