Synopsis
In late-1970s suburban London, Chris and Marion have settled into a comfortable yet all-too-predictable middle-class existence. Chris receives an unexpected visit from his free-spirited friend Toni, a reunion that reminds him of a more carefree time in 1960s Paris. Now, with lingering doubts about his marriage bubbling up, Chris must make the choice between revisiting his youthful abandon with Toni or facing the here and now with Marion.
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Cast
- Christian BaleChris
- Emily WatsonMarion
- Lee RossToni
- Elsa ZylbersteinAnnick
- John WoodThe Retired Commuter
- Bill ThomasMiddle-Aged Commuter
- Lucy SpeedPunk Girl
- Boris TerralJacques
- Ifan MeredithMickey
- Jonathan ArisDave
Recommendations
- 91
Entertainment Weekly
It's the rare portrait of a happy marriage that is honest about the complex currents of desire, and the drama is beautifully played by Bale, who gawks with soulful sweetness, and Watson, who does her most piercing work since "Breaking the Waves." - 80
Los Angeles Times
A satisfying story of love and marriage told with humor and insight. - 75
Chicago Sun-Times
There are a lot of movies about escaping from the middle class, but Metroland is one of the few about escaping into it. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
A sexy, moody comedy that plays like a dreamy comic novel. - 70
Slate
While it's true that you can't pack as much psychological detail into a movie as you can into a novel, director Philip Saville and screenwriter Adrian Hodges bring out the yeasty subtext of even the most brittle encounters. - 63
ReelViews
Director Philip Saville, working from a script by Adrian Hodges (which, in turn, is based on the novel by Julian Barnes), has crafted a competent, character-based tale, but the issues examined are stale, and Saville is unable to find a way to take the story to a newer, more interesting level - 63
San Francisco Examiner
Metroland is a provocative rumination on how relationships are warped by two people's inability to be truthful with each other. - 60
Chicago Reader
This fairly serious meditation on conventionality and monogamy blames his ennui on external forces, remaining adolescent even when it suggests its hero has grown up.
