Greta Gerwig plays Violet, a modern day Jane Austen-like heroine, busying herself by fixing the lives of those around her on an waspish east coast university. Our introduction to Violet and her group of campus friends is by way of Analeigh Tipton, playing a new girl Lily, who the group takes under their wing.
Violet: Hello! Are you a new student? Lily: Yes. Violet: Good, we thought so. We'd like to help you.
The story follows Violet and her group of friends on an elite fictional university (they don't have a greek system, they use a roman system for sororities and fraternities) where they run a suicide prevention group.
Violet: I don't really like the word "depressed". I prefer to say I'm in a tailspin.
But enter a plethora of handsome, dumb boys to stir things up between the group members.
Heather: (to Lily) Speaking of suicide prevention, do you have a boyfriend, Lily? Rose: Are you dating anyone? Lily: I don't see the connection. Heather: You don't? Violet: Boyfriends are a primary suicide risk.
The witty, urbane, bourgeois character who populate writer/director/producer Whit Stillman's films typically either delight or annoy audiences, and for me, I absolutely adore Stillman's films ("Metropolitan" "Barcelona" "Last Days of Disco"). With "Damsels in Distress" Stillman is quoted as saying he wanted to write a film about "four girls in a dorm who are trying to keep things civil in an uncivil world" and think that is a nice summary of this film's tone.
Violet: We're also trying to make a difference in people's lives, and one way to do that is to stop them from killing themselves.
The girls are an effortlessly likable group, particularly Gerwig and Tipton, who all are a delight to listen to as they banter amongst themselves and with others. Charming exchanges include:
Heather: Doar dorm has the university's highest fatality rate as well as the worst hygiene. Lily: Highest suicide rate. Violet: No, the highest fatality rate. It's not certain what percentage were intentional and how many were just due to a temporary unawareness of gravity's laws.
Or
Violet: We get a lot of students coming to the center pretending to be depressed to get the donuts. Rose: Confidence tricksters! Violet: Yes, it's really bad, really cynical. And we made a pledge the donut company that we would only give the donuts to students who were depressed, suicidal or otherwise nutty. We're a non-profit, so the rules are pretty strict.
Or
Violet: I took the commuter train to Villa Franka and I checked into a cheap motel there. Rose: The Motel 6? Violet: No, the Motel 4. It's even less expensive. Rose: The Motel 4, in Villa Franka? My god, you really were suicidal.
I'll fully admit that Stillman's mannered dialogue is not for all tastes, but I love the clever banter, witty observations, and particularly the verbal sparring, where characters try to prove they're the smartest one in the room. If that sounds like a good time to you, this film is a delight. For others, it may be an endurance test.
Violet: Hello! Are you a new student? Lily: Yes. Violet: Good, we thought so. We'd like to help you.
The story follows Violet and her group of friends on an elite fictional university (they don't have a greek system, they use a roman system for sororities and fraternities) where they run a suicide prevention group.
Violet: I don't really like the word "depressed". I prefer to say I'm in a tailspin.
But enter a plethora of handsome, dumb boys to stir things up between the group members.
Heather: (to Lily) Speaking of suicide prevention, do you have a boyfriend, Lily? Rose: Are you dating anyone? Lily: I don't see the connection. Heather: You don't? Violet: Boyfriends are a primary suicide risk.
The witty, urbane, bourgeois character who populate writer/director/producer Whit Stillman's films typically either delight or annoy audiences, and for me, I absolutely adore Stillman's films ("Metropolitan" "Barcelona" "Last Days of Disco"). With "Damsels in Distress" Stillman is quoted as saying he wanted to write a film about "four girls in a dorm who are trying to keep things civil in an uncivil world" and think that is a nice summary of this film's tone.
Violet: We're also trying to make a difference in people's lives, and one way to do that is to stop them from killing themselves.
The girls are an effortlessly likable group, particularly Gerwig and Tipton, who all are a delight to listen to as they banter amongst themselves and with others. Charming exchanges include:
Heather: Doar dorm has the university's highest fatality rate as well as the worst hygiene. Lily: Highest suicide rate. Violet: No, the highest fatality rate. It's not certain what percentage were intentional and how many were just due to a temporary unawareness of gravity's laws.
Or
Violet: We get a lot of students coming to the center pretending to be depressed to get the donuts. Rose: Confidence tricksters! Violet: Yes, it's really bad, really cynical. And we made a pledge the donut company that we would only give the donuts to students who were depressed, suicidal or otherwise nutty. We're a non-profit, so the rules are pretty strict.
Or
Violet: I took the commuter train to Villa Franka and I checked into a cheap motel there. Rose: The Motel 6? Violet: No, the Motel 4. It's even less expensive. Rose: The Motel 4, in Villa Franka? My god, you really were suicidal.
I'll fully admit that Stillman's mannered dialogue is not for all tastes, but I love the clever banter, witty observations, and particularly the verbal sparring, where characters try to prove they're the smartest one in the room. If that sounds like a good time to you, this film is a delight. For others, it may be an endurance test.