I'm not sure what it is but I think I'm off my game. That game being the appreciation of off-centre films. Normally I would find these types of films great but much like 'Holy Motors' I just did not 'get' this film. The plot sounds interesting and feels like it has a lot of potential but a few things bothered me. I got no real sense of when the film was set. The plot is about a group of women trying to change the masculine nature of their college. It seems that the college has only just become co-ed so the implication being that it was once a male dominated college and the girls want to change that. If the film is set today, then I was not aware that colleges like that still existed. The girls dress and behave like they would if the film was set in the past But there are a few pieces of technology that means it might be set today. The characters are a bit unusual too with traits that do not make sense. They all feel very flat and speak in a dry way with hardly any emotion. The only one that seems to be different is Lily because she is an outsider to the group. The most baffling one though is a guy in a fraternity who can't recognise colour, like he does not know the names of them. There was a very lame explanation given but it made no sense. The best thing about the film is the musical number that ends it. But sadly this is too little too late.
Greta Gerwig gives a nicely dry performance but is let down by the lack of wit in the script. The other girls are quite good too but I just wish they had something better to work with. Analeigh Tipton manages to rise above the lack of character and make her performance as Lily to be very sweet and endearing. The men sadly do not come off as well either. As mentioned above they have some strange character traits, so perhaps they cannot perform well enough to make them convincing.
The time away from the screen has not been kind to Whit Stillman. I think he has lost his skill and knack for making great movies.
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