Arlington Road

Starring:Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, Hope Davis, Robert Gossett, Mason Gamble, Spencer Treat Clark, Stanley Anderson, Viviane Vives, Lee Stringer, Darryl Cox, Loyd Catlett, Sid Hillman, Auden Thornton, Mary Ashleigh Green, Jenni Tooley, Grant Garrison (II), Naya Castinado, Laura Poe, Christopher Dahlberg
Director: Mark Pellington
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

It's easy to understand why Arlington Road sat on the studio shelf for nearly a year. No, the film isn't awful; rather, it's an extremely edgy and ultimately bleak thriller that offers no clear-cut heroes or villains. In other words, Hollywood had no idea how to sell it. Director Mark Pellington's underrated directorial debut, Going All the Way, suffered the same fate, essentially because the filmmaker's presentation of suburban America often shifts dramatically within the same film. Characters are usually miserable and bordering on meltdown, no situation is straightforward, and things usually end badly. Arlington Road begins as an astute study of suburban paranoia. Michael Faraday (a face-pinched Jeff Bridges, who spends most of the film on the brink of tears) is a college professor who teaches American history courses on terrorism. He's been a conspiracy freak since his wife, an FBI agent, was killed during a botched raid that feels like a thinly fictionalized reference to the Waco tragedy. After saving the life of his next-door neighbor's child, he initially befriends the family (Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack), but soon believes the husband is a terrorist. The first half of the film mocks Faraday: he has no real evidence and is not the most stable of protagonists. Despite the fact that it was government paranoia that got his wife killed, Faraday repeats the same type of behavior. Pellington shifts gears in the second half, however, and for awhile, it seems that the film has simultaneously sunk into a cheap, high-octane brand of Hollywood entertainment and undermined its own point. Arlington Road, though, possesses a stunning ending that's a real gut punch, one that may leave you needing a second viewing to catch all of its smartly executed setup. --Dave McCoy

Customer Reviews:

FantaStic.........2007-07-05

This is terrific..TerrifYing..Terrible.It has cutiES (Jeff Bridges is Hot..)Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack in it.I'm going to get a makeover and become a porn star,but thiS (Movies) right up My alleY with My Criminal Corrections degree.Joan Cusack's a cutie and from ChicagO.CHristine Orszula's the woman for me.

Good acting, direction, script... and yet incredibly annoying..........2007-06-09

This is one of those movies in which everything seems to be in place... and yet it still just falls flat.

The acting is good, Bridges giving the strongest performance, though it's always a pleasure to see Joan Cusack in ANYTHING. The script is good, the direction is good... but the movie as a whole left me empty and a little irritated.

It's unclear what this film would like to do, aside from entertain. Should we walk out feeling that terrorists are much more complex than they seem? Should we walk out feeling unsafe and suspecting everyone? There are scenes in this movie where Jeff Bridges is teaching a class in terrorism, and he talks about how illusory our feeling of safety is... and that's fine, but I wanted one of the students to ask "So what do you want us to do? Be afraid? Worry? Never leave the house? What?" In that way the movie seems to want to just stir up a lot of fear without giving it any direction or offering any possible solution. Of course there ISN'T a solution, but I feel that this movie stirs up a lot of fear and paranoia just to draw the audience into some excitement, and then makes the audience feel bad for being excited by such a thing. I felt manipulated and annoyed after it ended.

I also think this entire subject is a little too sensitive to be trying to milk entertainment dollars out of. If you want to make a serious drama, go ahead, but don't try to both draw us in with the promise of "spooky terrorist thrills" and then want to have a serious look at the issue. I was also a little bit uncomfortable with the sheer number of children-in-extreme-peril scenes. Again, if you want to treat this subject seriously, go ahead, but don't invite us to be "thrilled" by it.

I will say that the cinematography [by Bobby Bukowski] in this film was amazing. It makes SUCH a difference simply to have some visually interesting compositions up on the screen for once, instead of having movies that have all the compositional thought of snapshots. It just gives you something to LOOK at. My favorite scenes were the one with the RED phones against the grey sky, and the fence with the grey roofs above it. Amazing! Kudos to you, guys! This was literally my favorite part of the movie.

As for the "surprise" ending-- Woo Hoo, Big Deal.

I have come to like this movie less and less since I saw it [and that was pre-9/11]. This is one I would say you could skip completely, not even wait for the video. Just skip it. It leaves you with nothing but a bad taste in your mouth.

Absolutely horrible in all aspects.......2007-04-16

Horrible. Absolutely horrible in characters, story and atmospherics.

Jeff Bridges' character is so inconsistent and contradictory that he is not only unbelievable, but grating. The story fails in every way possible. The bad guy's plan depends upon being able predict (not just manipulate) actions of multiple characters, but to intricately synchronize them, even when they have only indirect access. Even worse, their plan depends upon Bridges' character making critical inferences on a tight schedule. But the cardinal sin is that script has the bad guys attempt to subvert a key element of their own plan.

Pacing and other atmospherics can overcome substantial flaws in the script, but in this movie, they are so amateurish that they emphasize and exacerbate those problems.

A Good Thriller.......2007-03-09

I avoid calling this a good "political" thriller, as I think the movie director might like to bill it, because the political motivations invoked to set the villains in motion here are almost ludicrous. This movie was made before 9/11 - so the film's "terrorists" are presented as a "vast right-wing conspiracy."

However even this simple-minded conception of the threat of terrorism is muddied by Jeff Bridges' fervid ranting. Bridges plays a college professor teaching classes in government, civil liberties, and terrorism. However he seems to be almost unhinged and perhaps suspiciously complicit in terrorist acts himself as he spirals off into confused diatribes against - first lone right-wing bombers like the Unibomber - then pervasive right-wing conspiracies - then the U.S. government itself, and specifically the F.B.I. Bridges blames all these entities for his wife's death, and his lectures apparently consist of little more than projected pictures of severed limbs and bleeding bodies left in the wake of such terrorist attacks. Furthermore, he incites his students to similar suspicion and hatred. I doubt that a professor who conducted his classes in such a way would hold his job very long.

So in order to enjoy this movie, it might be best to disregard all its muddled political assumptions. Just take it as a contest between some scary villains and some good guys. Then you can sit back and appreciate the very real suspense that this movie builds.

"Arlington Road" has one of the eeriest opening sequences I've seen in any movie. And then most memorable of all - is a scene involving Joan Cusack. We usually associate Cellular Joan with mildly comic turns. But one of the scenes featuring her in this movie delivers what is perhaps the ultimate jolting fright. It will probably literally make you jump out of your seat.

A threat from within.......2007-02-11

This raises eyebrows on the real possibility of domestic terrorism. Unfortunately, this is a legitimate fear, especially now. That's what makes this movie so nerve-jangling.
Jeff Bridges plays Michael Faraday, a college professor who teaches a course on terrorism. Tim Robbins plays his mysterious neighbor that raises some suspicion.
This movie does have some minor flaws. Although Jeff and Tim are fine actors, this wasn't their best performances. Plus, the story seems a little choppy, but the ending will make you disregard any of this. Your heart will be racing at the climax, without a doubt.

Average customer rating:

Arlington Road [Blu-ray]
Starring: Jeff Bridges , Tim Robbins , Joan Cusack , and Hope Davis
Director: Mark Pellington
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

General | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video

Mystery & Suspense | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000QXDFQW
Release Date: 2007-08-07

Product Description

A gripping contemporary thriller about the terrible truths that can hide behind everyday appearances, Arlington Road is an intense, edge-of-your-seat journey that reveals just how little we know about the world around us. Widowed when his FBI agent wife is killed by a right-wing group, college professor Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges) becomes obsessed with the culture of these groups, especially when his new neighbors, the all-American Oliver and Cheryl Lang (Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack), start acting suspiciously. With each twist, the mystery deepens and the question looms: is Faraday just consumed by fear and driven by paranoia, or has a lethal conspiracy been born on Arlington Road?

Average customer rating:

Not Clever

Arlington Road [Region 2]
Starring: Jeff Bridges , Tim Robbins , Joan Cusack , Hope Davis , and Robert Gossett
Director: Mark Pellington
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00005UDUI

Customer Reviews:

Not Clever.......2006-10-22

One of the least clever movies I have ever seen. The main character is not terribly bright for being a college professor. I'm always disappointed in movies where the characters are not particularly bright. I want to be entertained. As such, I expect characters to be smart/clever. For instance, Linda Florentino's character in the Last Seduction.

Average customer rating:

Arlington Road [Region 2]
Starring: Jeff Bridges , Tim Robbins , Joan Cusack , Hope Davis , and Robert Gossett
Director: Mark Pellington
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00003JA6P

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