Damsels in Distress

Violet (Greta Gerwig) is a sweet-natured, eccentric sophomore at a recently co-ed New England campus. Along with her friends Rose, Heather and Lily, Violet has grand ideas about improving the lives of her fellow students by making over the college’s boorish male population while inventing a new dance craze. Traipsing like loopy Jane Austen characters through their romantic dalliances, the girls dispense doughnuts, dance tips and witty dialogue in this peculiarly screwball comedy of errors. Damsels in Distress is venerated director Whit Stillman’s first big-screen outing in 13 years, following 90s indie hits. Premiering at the 2011 Venice Film Festival, it takes his characteristic concern with the manners and mannerisms of the young bourgeoisie to surreal new heights.