Barcelona

Do we really know what we want in our lives? Are we truly content with the jobs we have and the people we know? If not, we're not being forced to live such a life.

Whit Stillman's Barcelona explores such a topic within a Cold War setting. As he did with his previous film Metropolitan, Stillman chronicles those disillusioned by what's expected of their generation. And boy, are they jaded as a result.

Stillman recruits Taylor Nichols and Chris Eigeman again for Barcelona in roles similar to those in Metropolitan (Nichols the nebbish outsider, Eigeman the know-nothing know-it-all). Though here there's some more depth to their characters. (Similarly, Stillman seems to have a faint grasp on how to write female characters.)

Throughout Barcelona there's a clash of cultures between the lead characters and their setting. (Eigeman at one point tries to correct street graffiti with a pen.) They try to fit in but all they mostly succeed in doing is sticking out like sore thumbs. (Such an example happens at one of the parties they attend.)

Barcelona doesn't have the same spark as Metropolitan but it has its charms as well. Nichols and Eigeman's performances further proved what the world of cinema would further expect from Stillman: commentary on the changing jaded society we're a part of. (And that's not something that'll go away anytime in the near future.)

My Rating: ****

Metropolitan

Frequently one's debut provides insight into what to expect from potential future works. Whether it's a recurring theme or a character type, it tends to establish the creator's sense of, well, creativity.

In regards with Whit Stillman's Metropolitan, it captures the difference in class and how they're perceived by the varying classes. (Basically it's The Great Gatsby in the era of yuppies.) Sure, it might sound borderline obnoxious but Stillman ensures that it isn't.

Within the small soirees of the Sally Fowler Rat Pack, Metropolitan depicts a group of people disillusioned by their own generation. (Hey, it's not just with this generation.) Bearing the weight of the previous one, they struggle to make names for themselves. (Who would've thought Stillman managed to foretell the millennials?)

As well as being a (then) contemporary version of The Great Gatsby, Metropolitan also has Jane Austen as an influence. The views on society, the varying romantic entanglements, how women are perceived...all are aspects commonly found in the author's works. (Apparently she left enough of an impact on Stillman for him to adapt one of her works twenty-six years later.)

Metropolitan may not be everyone's cup of tea (there are some moments reminiscent of your average Noah Baumbach film) but Stillman makes sure all of its 98 minutes work. (They do.) Now to see if his later films meet the same caliber...

My Rating: ****

BOOK VS MOVIE: Lady Susan/Love & Friendship

Jane Austen once wrote in her her novel Persuasion, "I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives." Indeed, Austen wasn't afraid to show the shortcomings of the society she was a part of and that detail is what upholds her legacy today.

Yes, many of her works involve romance and the possibility of marriage but there's so much more to Austen's written words. She examines the plights of her era's social norms, how women were expected to be nothing more than dutiful wives and mothers.

But as her novella Lady Susan shows, not every woman is destined for an untarnished reputation. Told through a series of letters, it revolves around the titular young widow as she tries to arrange engagements for both her and her daughter. And whispers about her behavior start spreading among her friends and family.

Though borrowing its title from a completely different work of Austen's Whit Stillman's Love & Friendship stays mostly true to the novella. With a playful turn from Kate Beckinsale (and Tom Bennett stealing every scene he's in), it's the kind of work that would make Austen proud. (Out of curiosity, why do women so seldom adapt Austen?)

Between Lady Susan and Love & Friendship, both works depict the lead character as more than just the dainty figure fiction often puts them in. But while Austen shines more of a light on society's standards, Stillman focuses more on the people within said society. So which one's better?

What's worth checking out?: Both.