Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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 | |
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Boris Terral | ... | Jacques |
Lucy Speed | ... | Punk Girl | |
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Bill Thomas | ... | Middle-Aged Commuter |
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Bethan Fairbairn | ... | Amy |
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Daisy Fairbairn | ... | Amy |
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Del Bartle | ... | One of The Subverts |
After ten years absence Toni, Chris's best friend, suddenly reappears in London to bring chaos and doubt into Chris's calm, tranquil, slightly boring, predictable life. Chris starts to remember his carefree youth as a photographer in Paris when he lived with and enjoyed a torrid affair with Annick. It was also in Paris that he first met and fell in love with Marion. The temptations and pressure exerted on Chris by Toni to return to their former carefree life of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll soon starts to have an impact on Chris's marriage. He starts to question his values, his lifestyle choices and his relationship with Marion and even suspects her of starting an affair with Toni whom she dislikes! Eventually circumstances come to a head and Chris is forced to decide whether to follow Toni back to the hedonistic, irresponsible life of his youth or face the harsh realities of the present and stay with Marion. Written by Mark Smith <msmith@osi.co.uk>
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.