Metroland (1997)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Philip Saville

Writers:

Julian Barnes (novel)
Adrian Hodges (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 July 1998 (Singapore)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Metroland is not a location - it is a state of mind.

Plot:

The sudden reappearance of his best friend Toni, after ten years absence, causes Chris to remember his past, to question some of his lifestyle decisions and to re-evaluate his life and marriage to Marion.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Love | Marriage | Photographer | Sex

Cast

Christian Bale	...	Chris
Emily Watson	...	Marion
Lee Ross	...	Toni
Elsa Zylberstein	...	Annick
John Wood	...	The Retired Commuter
Rufus	...	Henri
Amanda Ryan	...	Joanna
Jonathan Aris	...	Dave
Ifan Meredith	...	Mickey
Boris Terral	...	Jacques
Lucy Speed	...	Punk Girl
Bill Thomas	...	Middle-Aged Commuter
Bethan Fairbairn	...	Amy
Daisy Fairbairn	...	Amy
Del Bartle	...	One of The Subverts

Also Known As:

Metroland (Spain)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, and for language.

Runtime:

105 min | USA:101 min

Country:

Spain | France | UK

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M (TV rating) | Iceland:12 | Germany:12 | France:U | Singapore:R(A) | UK:18 | USA:R | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Arts Council of England

Quotes:

Marion: Anyway, I want it to be you that I make love to.
Chris: It's me! It's me, darling!
Marion: No, it's not. It's eight pints of lager with an erection.

Soundtrack:

Sultans Of Swing

A man questions his life's direction when an old friend comes for a visit.

If Francois Truffaut were still alive today I think Metroland would easily fit into his oeuvre. A film about a person taking stock of himself at the crossroads, Metroland introduces us to a suburban utopia where people go to work everyday, take their kids to school, and wash their cars on the weekend. Christian Bale seems to accept this life until an old friend rings him up wanting to revisit the old times. Throughout the film we see what Bale's character could've been and how much happier he thought he was. Metroland's assertion is to accept life for what it is and not what it is not. Not everyone's cup of tea as evidenced by Bale's boyhood chum but being the film's setting takes place during the late seventies in England right before the rise of Thatcherism may be a subtle stab at what the middle class of the film will come to accept. Conformity over confrontation may ultimately be Metroland's theme no matter how much it hurts us to admit it.