Damsels in Distress

Not one of Whit Stillman's best, I'm afraid to say. I enjoyed it but I've always loved Stillman's particular rhythm of dialogue and dry sense of humor. And it certainly helped that he found a perfect dialogue deliverer in the actress Greta Gerwig, who is excellent as the very odd Violet, an undergraduate obsessed with helping the suicidally depressed with, among other things, tap dancing and good hygiene.

The problem with the film, as I see it, is that it's either a little too whimsical or not quite whimsical enough. It is certainly the least realistic of Stillman's four feature films, e.g. it has musical numbers. It reminded me of a musical college comedy from the 1930s, with its oafish Greeks, and its bright young thing females. I almost wish he'd just taken it farther, made it a wholesale musical comedy. Of course, if you do that, it would help if the leads could sing and dance. Greta Gerwig has a lot of talent but dancing doesn't appear to be one of them.