I Think I Relate More To This Movie Now Than I Would Have Not Long Ago
Added 4/30/2009
Based on Julian Barnes popular-under-the-radar novel, 1999's Metroland is an enjoyable, well-acted film that makes great use of its period and setting and finds depth in a plot that could easily have become trite. The scenes set in 1960's Paris were every bit as good as the ones in Greater London of the 1970's, and the questions which torment Christian Bale's character, Chris, are eternal ones that sooner or later confront anyone with even a small degree of insight into himself. Exploring as it does the decision most people eventually make to take the safe path in life versus the road less traveled---in Chris' case the staid day to day existence of working and coming home every evening to his wife and daughter in the London suburbs instead of pursuing the wild life represented by his visiting friend Toni---Metroland truly is a far better movie than it has a right to be and any description of what it is about can only fall short of the experience of seeing a cast with so much talent take on some of the eternal questions that go hand in hand with growing up and discovering who we are. Ultimately this rather quiet trip into one man's life at the point where his past, present and would-be future meet deserves a repeat viewing as there is so much going on within that never gets said in the direct sense and which rewards a viewer perspicacious enough to discern it. Metroland is not a great film but it's certainly a very good one with both Emily Watson and a pre-A-list Christian Bale delivering better performances than you'll see out of Hollywood. It's a film worth owning and worth taking off the shelf and watching now and again.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Metroland
Added 2/12/2009
This movie was true to life of what most people go through in their lives. Everyday struggles tend to create problems at home and work and make one question the choices they have made. It is worth the purchase!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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The English look at 'The Big Chill': METROLAND
Added 2/2/2008
If you liked the 1985 classic The Big Chill which took a look at "thirtysomething" America as it froze it's '60's free-spirit into a glacier of forgotten aspirations,then Metroland is worth your while.A simpler and more intimate film than it's American cousin,"Metroland" is the English equivalent of watching the hippie-dippy days of bell-bottomed pants,pot and free love melting into the frozen tundra of Bourgeoisieland- or so we are lead to believe.Simple in plot and heavy in truly adept acting,"Metroland" tells the story of the comfortable married life of Chris and Marion Lloyd (Christian Bale and Emily Watson),a young thirtyish couple in the middle class neighborhood of Edgewood.They have a child,successful careers and the "English garden".Sex is at least every other day.So, what could be the problem?
Chris' boyhood best-bud Toni arrives after ten absent years.Toni (a deliciously wicked Lee Ross) is still living the '60's radical ideals,and the two worlds of sell-out and love-in collide in very palpable ways.Chris is forced to question every choice he has made along the way;he once had aspiratins of being a Parisian photographer;he had a sexy and direct French paramour named Annick (Elsa Zylberstein of Immortal Beloved); Chris actually had developed a loathing of all that was English.WHAT HAPPENED?.Toni actively pursues Chris into rethinking all his choices and his marriage and family.
What makes this film so compelling is the uniformly outstanding performances by the four principle actors.Bale and Watson deliver positively knockout performances, as Siskel and Ebert noted.It's true!.The pain and anger that Chris and Marion confront is real.The question that this film raises is "Do we ever know if our decisions are right?" Like "The Big Chill","Metroland" is not a location,but a state of mind that suggests that being bourgeois is a cop-out for not living your dreams.Are you presently where you thought you would be 20 years ago-or are you restless and questioning? Are you sorry that you are in Metroland? Watch this film,then.
There is loads of sex and frontal nudity in this film,so be warned if you are provincial.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Love this movie
Added 7/19/2005
It's one of my all time favorites. I love Christian Bale too. I have seen this movie many times and I still like watching it. I just wish I would have gotten it on DVD instead of VHS. DVD's last longer.
2 out of 6 people found this helpful.
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The grass is greener
Added 5/8/2002
This is the first movie that I've seen that depicts a good marriage in a realistic way. Married people are not immune to wanting to have sex with other people, they just weigh those wants against the value of their marriage. This film takes a look at one man's quarter-life crisis spurred on by the arrival of his devil-may-care childhood buddy. It is an exhamination of what one has versus what he invisioned he would have, and a realization of whether or not he is happy. This film is a glimpse at life, not sappy or overly-dramatic, just good.
10 out of 10 people found this helpful.
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I Think I Relate More To This Movie Now Than I Would Have Not Long Ago
Added 4/30/2009
Based on Julian Barnes popular-under-the-radar novel, 1999's Metroland is an enjoyable, well-acted film that makes great use of its period and setting and finds depth in a plot that could easily have become trite. The scenes set in 1960's Paris were every bit as good as the ones in Greater London of the 1970's, and the questions which torment Christian Bale's character, Chris, are eternal ones that sooner or later confront anyone with even a small degree of insight into himself. Exploring as it does the decision most people eventually make to take the safe path in life versus the road less traveled---in Chris' case the staid day to day existence of working and coming home every evening to his wife and daughter in the London suburbs instead of pursuing the wild life represented by his visiting friend Toni---Metroland truly is a far better movie than it has a right to be and any description of what it is about can only fall short of the experience of seeing a cast with so much talent take on some of the eternal questions that go hand in hand with growing up and discovering who we are. Ultimately this rather quiet trip into one man's life at the point where his past, present and would-be future meet deserves a repeat viewing as there is so much going on within that never gets said in the direct sense and which rewards a viewer perspicacious enough to discern it. Metroland is not a great film but it's certainly a very good one with both Emily Watson and a pre-A-list Christian Bale delivering better performances than you'll see out of Hollywood. It's a film worth owning and worth taking off the shelf and watching now and again.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Metroland
Added 2/12/2009
This movie was true to life of what most people go through in their lives. Everyday struggles tend to create problems at home and work and make one question the choices they have made. It is worth the purchase!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
The English look at 'The Big Chill': METROLAND
Added 2/2/2008
If you liked the 1985 classic The Big Chill which took a look at "thirtysomething" America as it froze it's '60's free-spirit into a glacier of forgotten aspirations,then Metroland is worth your while.A simpler and more intimate film than it's American cousin,"Metroland" is the English equivalent of watching the hippie-dippy days of bell-bottomed pants,pot and free love melting into the frozen tundra of Bourgeoisieland- or so we are lead to believe.Simple in plot and heavy in truly adept acting,"Metroland" tells the story of the comfortable married life of Chris and Marion Lloyd (Christian Bale and Emily Watson),a young thirtyish couple in the middle class neighborhood of Edgewood.They have a child,successful careers and the "English garden".Sex is at least every other day.So, what could be the problem?
Chris' boyhood best-bud Toni arrives after ten absent years.Toni (a deliciously wicked Lee Ross) is still living the '60's radical ideals,and the two worlds of sell-out and love-in collide in very palpable ways.Chris is forced to question every choice he has made along the way;he once had aspiratins of being a Parisian photographer;he had a sexy and direct French paramour named Annick (Elsa Zylberstein of Immortal Beloved); Chris actually had developed a loathing of all that was English.WHAT HAPPENED?.Toni actively pursues Chris into rethinking all his choices and his marriage and family.
What makes this film so compelling is the uniformly outstanding performances by the four principle actors.Bale and Watson deliver positively knockout performances, as Siskel and Ebert noted.It's true!.The pain and anger that Chris and Marion confront is real.The question that this film raises is "Do we ever know if our decisions are right?" Like "The Big Chill","Metroland" is not a location,but a state of mind that suggests that being bourgeois is a cop-out for not living your dreams.Are you presently where you thought you would be 20 years ago-or are you restless and questioning? Are you sorry that you are in Metroland? Watch this film,then.
There is loads of sex and frontal nudity in this film,so be warned if you are provincial.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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