Damsels in Distress
is Whit Stillman’s fourth film and his first in 14 years. If his first three
films fit together as a sort of trilogy (some characters cross over) of early
1980s Urban Haute Bourgeoisie (a term created by one of his characters in Metropolitan, Stillman’s first film),
then this one takes off in a new if slightly familiar direction. For one thing,
Damsels in Distress is his first film
that focuses almost exclusively on female lead characters (he even gives them
the title). More importantly, whereas Stillman’s earlier films were grounded in
the real world, his latest has a setting that belongs more in the realm of
fantasy.
