With five movie scores to his credit in the 1980s, Mark Knopfler put his soundtrack sideline aside during most of the 1990s to concentrate on a final Dire Straits album and tour and to finally begin his much-anticipated solo career. Once his Golden Heart CD was released and the tour finished, Knopfler accepted his next film assignment for Philip Savilles 1997 adaptation of Julian Barnes novel Metroland. Starring Christian Bale and Emily Watson, the film tells the story of a middle-class suburban husband and father in the late 1970s experiencing an early mid-life crisis. (Metroland refers to the suburbs north of London, reached by the Metropolitan train line.)

Knopfler composed seven original tracks for the film, six instrumentals and one with a vocal track. He used the members of his solo band, which he affectionately refers to as the 96ers for the year in which they first worked together: keyboardist Guy Fletcher, guitarist Richard Bennett, pianist Jim Cox, bassist Glenn Worf, and drummer Chad Cromwell. Chris White, Dire Straits saxophonist, makes an appearance, as does horn player Steve Sidwell. In the CD liner notes, Knopfler thanks them (and longtime producer Chuck Ainlay) for making me sound better than I do.

The title song, Metroland, eloquently summarizes the questions posed by the main character throughout the film:

Yearning, we were yearning
Green light blinding on the rail
Burning, we were burning
And the line unwinding to the Holy Grail
To the future gleaming on a blue horizon
And a golden girl on golden sand
Dreaming, fantasizing
in another world from Metroland

I've danced in rain
And I've been Django
And I've got laid
I've been a rolling stone
I've been Verlaine
And I've been Rimbaud
Not afraid to walk alone
And now I take my midnight ramble
Do I fold or play
What's in my hand
What's at stake and what's the gamble
Do I stay in Metroland

Dreams, yesterday's laughter
Ghosts and lovers come back to play
But dreams have the morning after
And run for cover
In the light of day
I got something real, worth holding on to
I can belong to, and understand
I've made my deal
I will go on to
Make my peace with Metroland

Unlike his previous soundtrack work, source music from the period was used side-by-side with Knopflers original compositions. The Stranglers, Hot Chocolate, Elvis Costello, and Dire Straits own Sultans of Swing were used as background tracks for the dialogue-heavy scenes. Much of the movie takes place in flashbacks to 1960s Paris, set to Django Reinhardt instrumentals and Francoise Hardys Tous Les Garcons Et Les Filles.

Despite mixed reviews for the picture itself, the critics were overwhelmingly positive about the Knopfler-penned pieces. Boxoffice Magazines Susan Green stated This is a thoroughly satisfying little film with an exquisite Mark Knopfler score and the New York Times Janet Maslin noted that one of the pictures strongest assets was the fine, expressive score. Etana Jacobson of If Magazine wrote, Mark Knopfler's quirky Franco-Brit score adds without distracting. Chuck Donkers of All Music Guide said Mark Knopfler's fine soundtrack to the film nicely evokes the picture's wistful, nostalgic atmosphere. Jerry McCulley of Amazon.com thought that the album's shaggy eclecticism has its charms nonetheless, and Scott Renshaw of KillerMovies said Theres some nice atmosphere to Metroland, particularly from Mark Knopflers silky score. Kevin Thomas of the L.A. Times complimented the evocative original tracks.

The Warner Bros. CD soundtrack (9362-47006-2-3) is currently available from major retailers. It features all fourteen tracks described above.