The song is illustrative of Knopfler's art: it begins with a rising four-note theme on flugelhorn which parallels the hymn Jerusalem, the quintessential anthem of Englishness, but with a vibraphone accompaniment recalling Anglo-French jazz of the '50s.

In his review for AllMusic, Chuck Donkers gave the album three out of five stars, noting that Knopfler's music "nicely evokes the picture's wistful, nostalgic atmosphere.

[4] In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin noted that one of the film's "strongest assets" was Knopfler's "fine, expressive score".

In her review for iF Magazine, Etana Jacobson wrote that "Mark Knopfler's quirky Franco-Brit score adds without distracting.

"[6] In his review for KillerMovies, Scott Renshaw wrote, "There's some nice atmosphere to Metroland, particularly from Mark Knopfler's silky score.