Director Whit Stillman's fourth feature has been a long time coming—following a 14 year gap following the release of The Last Days of Disco, he is finally back with Damsels in Distress, which opened last month. The film, shot entirely on Staten Island (though you might not know it), is finishing up a nice run at The Sunshine, and will soon hop the East River to Williamsburg's Nitehawk Cinema, where there's no reason to sneak in your own booze, because they deliver it right to your seat.
At once dry and effervescent, "Damsels" stars Greta Gerwig, Analeigh Tipton, and Adam Brody (among others) in an absurd story about a tight-knit group of young women at a fictional east coast college who strive "to rescue their fellow students from depression, grunge and low standards of every kind." It's an endearing addition to Stillman's idiosyncratic body of work: His hermetically-sealed world of earnest and genteel sophisticates, who banter passionately about absurd principles with zero self-awareness, is a fantasy blissfully void of vulgarity. It draws you into its spell while also distancing you with its artifice—just enough that you can laugh, often, at these preposterous people.
On Tuesday June 5th, Stillman will join us for a screening of Damsels in Distress (with special cocktails and food related to the film) at Nitehawk Cinema, followed by a Q&A and an after-party. (Perhaps some other cast members will stop by, too!) If you attended our Bored to Death bash at Nitehawk, you know this is going to be a good time, so don't sleep on tickets. They're on sale now. Hell, it's worth it just to see if we can get Whit Stillman to actually come to Williamsburg!
Here's the trailer:
