Hope Davis, Jeff Bridges, Joan Cusack

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...( read more  read more... )-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

Flixster Users

75% liked it

37,308 ratings

Critics

60% liked it

85 critics

R, 119 min.

Directed by: Mark Pellington

Release Date: July 9, 1999

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DVD Release Date: December 11, 2001

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Stats: 1,673 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,673)


  • September 22, 2009
    Grabs you from the get go, a great film with a very un-Hollywood ending which I doubt we will see again for a very long time to come post 9/11!
  • May 14, 2009
    I wasn't a fan of this movie. It was suspenseful and had lots going on, but the ending was one anyone could guess.
  • July 11, 2008
    creepy and fascinating. suprise ending that is very unlike hollywood. disturbing but great movie
  • July 6, 2008
    Bridges/Robbins are the absolute duo in the roles of good/evil. The movie is good and although it has different elements than movies of the same style, it's not good enough to be called a "masterpiece."
  • July 1, 2008
    after seeing it again i changed my mind, its not that great the acting is kind of bad and exaggerated

    the ending is still cool beans though
  • November 21, 2009
    What an awful and a stupid ending. It was the worst thing about this film. This film was already slowly paced and it was a little boring and dull, but the ending made it very bad.
  • September 27, 2009
    cool opening and unexpected ending
  • September 17, 2009
    Shocking and very intense psychological thriller. Surpassed my expectations.

    61/100
  • August 26, 2009
    Watched this on a plane for the first time but still enjoyed it. It was suspensful, annoying 'cos you know that what he's thinking is right but noone else believes him and the performances are terrific, great ending.
  • July 8, 2009
    A spooky thriller that really makes you question who you're living nextdoor to. Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins battle it out in this good guy, bad guy story that ends in a bout of paranoia.

Critic Reviews


January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The climax is so implausible we stop caring and start scratching our heads! full review

View more Arlington Road reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • nogz007
    February 4, 2007
    best ending ever, period.

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Arlington Road Trivia


  • Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack play creepy neighbors in which movie?  Answer »
  • In which movie was Jeff Bridge's paranoia real?  Answer »
  • What movie features Jeff Bridges as a university professor and Tim Robbins as his mysterious neighbour mixed up in a bombing plot?  Answer »
  • In what film did Tim Robbins set up Jeff Bridges to bomb an FBI building?  Answer »

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