Whit Stillman directs Taylor Nichols, Chris Eigeman and Tushka Bergen in this indie romantic comedy following two American cousins looking for love in Eighties Europe.

Stillman’s second film of social faux pas and small societies is probably his best. The interplay between the two adult cousins is rich with many running threads and jokes. You truly care about them by the third act which has an event that derails the status quo. Stillman makes the sorta films you get the feeling Woody Allen was aiming for in the 90s but the famous comic turned director was scuppered by being a bit too old and bit too tired plus the weight of expectation. Stillman’s gets the urbane dialogue driven farce right by being nimble and light. Intellectual, deadpan yet somehow also warm and also cosy.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Metropolitan (1990)