Arlington Road (1999)

One thing's for sure about director Mark Pellington's Arlington Road - you won't look at your neighbors the same way again.

Jeff Bridges plays Michael Faraday, a history professor specializing in American terrorism. After his wife dies in an abortive FBI mission gone awry, Faraday starts to suspect that something may be amiss with all-American neighbors Oliver (a spooky Tim Robbins) and Cheryl (Joan Cusack, in a role that didn't make me want to scream, as most of her other roles do) Lang. The movie oscillates between painting Faraday as a paranoid delusional and hinting that there may be something darker at work in the Lang house.

Bridges proves himself one of the better actors of our day, in a very un-Dudelike performance here. And Robbins steps deftly out of the Andy Dufresne pigeonhole (oh, the myriad Shawshank puns I could have made!) and keeps the audience guessing about his intentions. I even can't say much negative about Cusack, who usually induces a run-for-the-hills mentality any time I see her in a movie; I'm only just getting over similar sensibilities when it comes to her brother. So the acting is fairly strong; Hope Davis does a fantastic job as Faraday's girlfriend who initially rejects his theories but eventually comes to see things his way, and it's fun to see The Closer's Robert Gossett as Faraday's FBI buddy.

Major kudos go to both screenwriter Ehren Kruger and director Mark Pellington for balancing suspense without compromising story. Though the movie at times feels like it's dillydallying without delivering and approaches being formulaic, an explosive final reel more than atones for the movie's sins.

The disadvantage with a film like Arlington Road is that most of the fun (if we can call such an experience fun, laden as it is with a heavy scoop of gravitas) of the movie is discovering along with Faraday what's true and what's imagined. Once we know how the movie ends, there's little fun in rewatching it; it doesn't harbor as many delightful nuggets that make a second viewing as worthwhile as, oh, Nolan did in The Dark Knight.

So ultimately this cerebral thriller comes with a solid recommendation from The Cinema King, with a caution that - ending aside - it might be a little forgettable. Decent acting all around, though.

Boom.


The MPAA rated Arlington Road "R for violence and some language." Violence consists of some gory footage of terrorism as well as a few bloody flashbacks. Language is sporadic but objectionable. Most of the violence is all in your head, though, since there's more tense moments than in-your-face guts.