began spending time with her, telling her about Annick and his conflicting feelings towards England. Unimpressed with his unrealistic dreams, Marion informed him that eventually he would get married because he was "not original enough" to avoid marriage and a conventional future. When Annick learned about his friendship with the Englishwoman, she broke off their relationship. Back in the present, Chris is unable to get over the feeling that he has surrendered his youth and ideals to a life he once swore he would never lead. One night he attends a party at Toni's girlfriend's house, arriving without his wife. There he hears Toni casually mentioning that his girlfriend just had an abortion, and then sees him flirting with another woman at the party—doing what he wants to do. Later, Chris meets a beautiful woman, Joanna (Amanda Ryan), who invites him to sleep with her. After learning that Toni in fact asked her to sleep with his friend as a way of ruining his marriage, Chris rejects the offer and returns home to Marion. The next day, Chris comes home from work and finds Toni in the house with Marion. Toni hints that he and Marion had sex and the two friends get into a fight in the garden. Later, Marion tells him that Toni tried it on and that she rejected him. She tells him that despite all of his talk, Toni is really only jealous of Chris and the life he leads. The next day, Toni shows up at Chris' house to say goodbye before headed to Malibu, where he intends to do some screenwriting. He tries to tempt Chris into leaving his life behind and come with him but Chris refuses, admitting, "I like my life; I'm content". That night, while Chris is on one of his walks, Marion approaches and asks what he would put on the list for "happy". Chris responds, "Happy—if not now, never". Cast Christian Bale as Chris Lloyd Emily Watson as Marion Lloyd Lee Ross as Toni Barbarowski Elsa Zylberstein as Annick John Wood as The Retired Commuter Rufus as Henri Amanda Ryan as Joanna Jonathan Aris as Dave Ifan Meredith as Mickey Boris Terral as Jacques Lucy Speed as Punk Girl Bill Thomas as Middle-Aged Commuter Bethan Fairbairn as Amy Lloyd Daisy Fairbairn as Amy Lloyd Production Theme Metroland explores the tension between the youthful idealism of a hedonistic existence and