tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post1586569329189579801..comments2023-11-05T02:01:53.847-06:00Comments on Antagony & Ecstasy: WHIT STILLMAN: METROPOLITAN (1990)Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-3883264699442061682012-04-13T14:28:29.119-05:002012-04-13T14:28:29.119-05:00Yeah, I think the ending is really good, too. Tho...Yeah, I think the ending is really good, too. Though not necessarily because it's all about friendship--I think the film keeps and even gains energy because the boys are finally attempting to *do* something, instead of just talk all the time. I also find their desperate search attractively romantic, and it hits emotionally home to me that while all the old friendships and group dynamics are suddenly falling away, they realize they really want to hold onto those things, that they want to preserve something that has been treated by most of the characters as an old-fashioned charade for almost the whole movie.<br /><br />I also disagree just slightly with your take on Nick--he's certainly cynical and biting while being somehow effortlessly charming, but not just nihilistic. He says on at least one occasion that he believes in deb parties and strongly supports these types of societies. He also has those monologues about things in the past that were better and the toys of their generation. He thinks it's all going downhill, and he's self-destructive and reckless, but there's something about him that holds certain things very sacred and pines for older traditions, too.StephenMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16588260639227694557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-73713951440802960182012-04-10T08:51:42.123-05:002012-04-10T08:51:42.123-05:00I disagree with you about the final act, which to ...I disagree with you about the final act, which to me reveals the ethical heart of the film. Nick's aesthetically cultivated cynicism, Tom's Marxist inspired criticism and Charlie's sociologically grounded pessimism all give way to a realization that solidarity and friendship are the only true indicators of a successful or authentic life. Nick's absence represents something of a self-sacrifice in this respect - he is not so nihilistic that he can't recognise the limitations of his own character when it comes to establishing meaningful relationships. By contrast, Audrey is the very embodiment of personal integrity, and the boys' mad dash to save her virtue can be self-consciously anachronistic because it is really about preserving the memory of a community which apparently has no place in the world of adult responsibilities.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com