Damsels In Distress (2012)

I feel like I should preface this by saying that I have not seen any of Whit Stillman's previous films, so I had no preconceptions of what this film should live up to nor about his style.

I think the best way to sum up how I felt after first watching Damsels in Distress is 'delightfully bewildered'. I wasn't entirely sure what I'd seen but I knew that I liked it. I possibly even loved it.

The film centers on three college girls lead by Violet (Greta Gerwig) who take on transfer student, Lily (Analeigh Tipton) as their latest in a series of projects. They also run the suicide prevention center (where donuts and dance classes prevail in favor of more traditional methods) and have encounters with a series of men, including wannabe-womanizer Charlie (Adam Brody) and idiotic frat-boys like Frank (Ryan Metcalf).

This film is really just...odd. But in a nice way. The dialogue is awkward and stilted and there seems to be a lack of 'brain to mouth' filter in many of the characters but that's part of the overall atmosphere.

As fantastical as this world can be, it's still somewhat based in reality. Stillman seems to be drawing his inspiration from the American (east coast) University culture that he grew up in. And though my knowledge of this world comes entirely via cultural osmosis, this did not hinder my enjoyment in the least.

Its episodic structure appealed to me, too, as these kinds of films, especially as they tend to be slower paced, feel quite calming to me. Instead of jump-cuts and BLAH we are left to meander along with the characters like a whimsical stroll in the park.

The film is largely dialogue driven so you need to be able to keep up with that. I feel that watching a lot of older films is a great way to get used to dialogue heavy scripts.

Overall highlights: the ridiculously roundabout description of anal sex that went over my head for a good while; the awkward dance sequence to 'Things Are Looking Up' an homage to A Damsel in Distress (1937) presumably the inspiration for Stillman's title; Violet's obsession with dance crazes and the closing scene with her own dance craze, The Sambola.

Oh, and I've fallen more than just a little bit in love with Greta Gerwig.