UnowPriceless
hyped garbage
ShangLuda
Admirable film.
TrueHello
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
jfarms1956
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.
Nitin
Every person, once in a while, during his adolescent years, dreams of doing something different- something more meaningful. But then he grows up and makes the choices- mostly ending up on paths that many had taken before him and many will take after him. While traveling on that path of course, he often stops and wonders whether he made the right decision- is this the right path for him. Metroland beautifully explores this state of mind when a person is half way down the road and wondering whether the decision he took was right or whether he should really become that rebel he always dreamed of becoming. The fact that this movie (made in nineties) is shot in the context of seventies emphasizes this point even further- the situation doesn't change with the decade- or with the ages. The acting is brilliant with Christian Bale on the top. The two leading ladies are OK though not too impressive.The direction is the one that truly steals the show. The director is able to create the effect of the viewer actually being part of the journey with the protagonist, where he starts from the feeling of what if and ending up in the awakening. A must watch for anyone past there 20s and feeling settled in their life.
moonspinner55
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 ****
GhaniHwi
-Spoiler-"Metroland" is a movie that studies the choices we make in our lives and if, in retrospect, we made the "best" decisions regarding our personal happiness.The movie, on the whole, had a nice idea going for it. Merely watching Chris (Christian Bale) and Marion (Emily Watson) live their present lives through the memories of their past made for an interesting (if not engrossing) film. It's flaw, I think, lies in the film's way of batting you over the head with it's ideas. The film literally leaves nothing for you to think through on your own. The result of slathering on the characters and plot elements is that the movie starts to really sag under its own weight during the last 45-some-odd minutes. I actually thought to fast-forward merely because everything was winding down so slowly and predictably. I finished the movie unconvinced that Chris was completely happy with his life. He was "content" but that does not equate to happiness...I thought Bale and Watson played well off of each other (especially upon their first meeting and in the final flashback on the bridge). Ross had an occasional few good moments that held his character up shakily. I found that my main technical point would have to have been the cinematography (the scenes in Paris could have been so much more wild and vivid, while in contrast- the scenes at home could have been more loving and smooth...).All-in-all, the movie is watchable, but only just. If you are a Christian Bale or Emily Watson fan (or preferably both) the movie will hold your attention lightly.
