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Sadly Over-hyped

Good movie but grossly overrated

A different way of telling a story

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This movie "Metroland" is best enjoyed by those who are 25 or older and are looking for a way to fill a time slot either in the afternoon or in the evening. It is also one of those movies easily turned on to hear some noise coming out of the TV. It is also a movie which can be gotten into almost anywhere in the movie. Metroland is not very memorable and easily and quickly forgotten. No need to watch it again. Once is more than enough. The stars do okay in the movie. It is difficult to be memorable in a movie with little purpose except to entertain. This is what I call a "Busy" movie -- one that you can move around the house and still not miss much, but gives satisfaction of hearing the TV noise. Don't worry about the popcorn here. You'll be to busy to enjoy eating it.

One of Christian Bale's more benign vehicles, an adaptation of Julian Barnes' novel which mixes moods playfully, if not incisively. In 1977, a British married couple in their thirties have their household mildly disrupted after the husband's boyhood best friend sweeps into town, encouraging the man to test the boundaries of his commuter lifestyle. Somewhat reminiscent in content of the British kitchen-sink dramas from the 1960s--and yet innocuous enough to remind one of the later "The Banger Sisters"--the film is solidly-performed and designed, interesting without cutting very deeply. The flashbacks to Bale's young adulthood, living in Paris with dreams of being a professional photographer, are starry-eyed and dewy, helped along by the actor's effective boyishness. The film hopes to paint a portrait of one life which may (subtly) mirror thousands, but it is ultimately too mild and tidy to be a thorough character study. ** from ****

I am not a critic. All I have to say is that I read that Christian Bale's sister said that this role in Metroland, as Chris, is the one that most represents Christian in real life. I saw him, in his role as Chris, the married with child, middle class husband, as one who looked back at his sexual awakening in Paris, and saw how good he had it with Marion,his wife, that what he really wanted, in the end, was commitment, stability, loyalty, and the sweet bliss that only marriage, covenant with one person, can bring. I thought the movie had a wonderful message and beautiful ending. He chose his wife in the end, the woman he fell in love with, not the fantasy. Bravo Chris, Bravo! Loved this movie. However, I am a very biased "critic" as I love everything Christian Bale has been in, as he is an incredible actor, my favorite, and brings it, no matter what the quality of the film.

All of us, as we age, recall the choices we've made in our lives that led us to the place we are currently. Inevitably, there is at least a tinge of regret and wonder about how our lives would be different if we had chosen an alternate path. The self-doubts become starker when we meet up with old friends who took that different route.That is the theme of Metroland, which takes place in suburban London in the late 70s. Chris (Christian Bale) is a middle class husband and father approaching middle age who commutes to an office job in the city. The excitement has waned from his marriage to Marian (Emily Watson), and he has constant reveries about his first girlfriend (Elsa Zylberstein), and the good times he had as a young single man in Paris during the late 60s. The longing for those days intensifies when he is visited by his old friend Tony (Lee Ross), who has remained single, traveled the world, and boasts of a string of exotic affairs. Sensing Chris's restlessness, Tony tries to provide him with a taste of the swinger's lifestyle. This temptation confounds Chris all the more, and things don't crystallize until Tony ultimately makes a pass at Marian.There is nothing about this film that doesn't work. The writing is superb; the acting outstanding; and the story extremely entertaining, in that the situations are those with which we can all relate. According to the credits, "Metroland" was funded in part by proceeds from the English national lottery. This is one gamble that paid off handsomely for everyone.