Reason Writers at the Movies: Peter Suderman Reviews Whit Stillman's Damsels in Distress
Senior Editor Peter Suderman reviews Damsels in Distress, beloved indie director Whit Stillman's first film in more than a decade, in today's Washington Times:
There's only one way to classify a Whit Stillman movie — and that's as, well … a Whit Stillman movie. Despite his widespread influence on a generation of indie filmmakers, no one else makes movies quite like Mr. Stillman.
Indeed, "Damsels in Distress," the director's first film after a long hiatus, suggests that even Mr. Stillman no longer makes movies quite like he used to. "Damsels," about a trio of young women who set out to reform the boys at an East Coast college, is sillier, shallower and altogether lighter on its feet than his early films.
Yet despite the differences, it remains recognizably a Whit Stillman film, albeit of a different weight and flavor. "Damsels" is a funny, entertaining, affecting trifle, but a trifle all the same.