Metroland

"Metroland" should appeal to boomers, particularly ones who now find themselves in the suburbs and/or with families. (It did not appeal to the two senior citizen couples next to and in back of me who did not shut up throughout the whole movie as they didn't seem to grasp the concepts of flashbacks or fantasy images)

I'm sure there's other movies that have a friend and/or sibling interfering in a stable relationship and shaking the tree (my friend thought of "Hilary and Jackie"-- but maybe because both have Emily Watson, here bundled up in sweaters to try and make her less ravishing) but I couldn't think of one that deals with our time period of post-'60's measurements of personal happiness and fulfillment. We could relate to the English and Parisian experiences with parallel ones here from the same time periods of '68 vs. '78 (nicely accurate hair styles, make-up and clothes).

While there are no shortage of shots of gorgeous naked women, there's ironic visual comment regardless the lead character's lovemaking techniques don't improve over the decade of experience. One sees plenty of Christian Bale, such that I think it would, I imagine, appeal to gay men as well.

Nice use of punk music (freaking out the senior next to me!), otherwise the score was quite lovely by Mark Knopfler, with a closing song original to the movie, with apropos lyrics.

(originally written 4/17/1999)

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.

It's 1977 and Chris is a 30ish bloke who still has the eager, wistful face of an angelic adolescent, enjoys a placid existence in the London suburbs, taking comforting in his wife, his baby, and his garden. Yet he's a haunted man. Spurred by the arrival of Toni, his rakish counterculture chum, he is tormented by visions of what might have been - the enticing word of sexual possibility he left behind, embodied in memories of his blissed out love affair with a sultry secretary during his bohemian Paris days in the late '60s. As the film glides back and forth between eras, the churning of Chris' heart comes to the force with with disarming intimacy. We feel as if we're seeing the formation of an individual: his all too brief fling with hedonism, the sadness and hidden wisdom of a path that seems to have choosen him rather than the other way around. "Metroland" is a no-fuss movie that casts a rich, tranquil spell. It's a 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 Emily Watson does her most piercing work since "Breaking the waves."

Okay, you can tell me I'm crazy but I completely wonder why the hell this movie was made. I gave it an okay rating, but only because I hate butchering films. The cinematography was less than good, the story was weak and lacked and real twist or meat to it and the characters were so bland that there really wasn't much to invest in. I mean, I found this difficult to bother to sit through on television while sick with a cold and dying just to chill to the TV. To me, that's a pretty bad sign. I love Emily Watson, so I stuck it through to the end, but even my enthusiasm for her as an actress was not enough to make a difference in the taste this movie left in my mouth, which I can only describe as blander than any food I've ever tasted, even when I was a baby on Gerber.

My advice to others that wish to take any... Do not bother wasting your time. Life is too short and if you're going to watch a movie about other people's lives, it should at least be as interesting as your own.

"Metroland" Christian Bale stars as Chris, a 30 year old man who must reexamine his priorities and life choices once an old friend(Lee Ross) comes back into his life. The friend criticizes Chris on the lack of excitement in his life and urges him to leave his wife Marion (Emily Watson) and travel the world. As enticing the dramatic possibilities seem with this plot, "Metroland" takes all the expectations one might have and tries something new. It's a character piece, headlined with a smashing performance by Bale. It's also funny, bright, and deeply introspective. The plot takes us on a tour of Chris's past. A past that included a stay in Paris with a beautiful native. The woman teaches Chris the ways of love and bohemian lifestyle, a lifestyle Chris has always wanted. The section takes up about half of the film, and is the film's strongest suit. We see the very English Chris try to pass himself off as a Parisian and curse at other Brits, he also loses his virginity is a grandly comical scene. The other half of the film deals with Chris trying to justify his lack of shame in his calm, predictable life. Veteran director Philip Saville does a good job making sure the audience never loses faith in Chris. It could have been real easy to drag the film through a series of lame dramatics, but Saville gives realistic answers to realistic questions.

There are a lot of pluses in "Metroland". It's well written, sharply shot with a good eye for detail, and everybody out there knows how I feel about the brilliant Emily Watson. What I liked best, and this might seem weird, but with all the grotesque nudity in such films as "Go" and "He Got Game", "Metroland" is refreshingly blunt. There is a lot of bodies on display here, but in a very natural and - dare I say - beautiful way. It's not thrown in your face. It just is. This is a good movie that relies on a soft, steady narrative than a hyped, antsy one.------------- 8