Arlington Road
Starring Tim Robbins, Jeff Bridges and Joan Cusack
Directed By Mark Pellington
(Polygram Filmed Entertainment)
An annoying little movie that has immense promise but then doesn't seem to
know how to lead up to it's admirably excellent final twist. Jeff Bridges
plays Michael Faraday, a widower who starts getting suspicions about the
neighbours, Oliver and Cheryl Lang (Robbins and Cusack.) Faradays girlfriend
(Hope Davis) gets more and more annoyed with Michael, but his suspicions
become more and more stronger as he discovers darker and darker secrets
about the friendly guy next door.
The 'neighbour who looks nice but isn't' plotline is nothing new, and the
same clichés pop up in this movie, featuring stereotypes like the cop who
wants to believe the paranoid neighbour but doesn't (Robert Gossett) and the
aforementioned non believing girlfriend. However, Arlington Road delivers
with these elements with more style, rather than more brains, than other
movies than deal with this plotline. Mark Pellington's direction is assured,
with every scene smacking of style, and being very, very dark. There appears
to be little illumination in both the Faradays and the Langs households,
which upsets the cinematography. There's some well handled jump scenes as
well, and the tension reaches astronomically levels in some scenes, such as
where Michael is searching through Oliver's study. But occasionally the
movie seems to plod, the character building scenes aren't developed enough
by screenwriter Ehren Kruger to be of any interest. These scenes really bog
down the film, and I was almost nodding off during some parts of the movie.
There is, however, one outstanding scene at the start which sets up the
characters rather well. Other than that (and the flashback showing the death
of Michaels wife) it's best to ignore any attempts the film makes to develop
the characters, and just sit back and enjoy the showman thriller sequences.
The cast also play their part in creating an believable environment for an
almost unbelievable revelation when it finally appears. Tim Robbins seems to
relish playing the bad guy for once, carrying out scenes with an evil glee.
Unfortunately, he's been plagued with the worst haircut in his career. Jeff
Bridges isn't bad as the paranoid Michael, carrying out the drama and action
pretty well. Hope Davis delivers an acceptable performance, but appears to
be in the movie for eye candy rather than acting prowess. But it takes Joan
Cusack to take the acting honours, as the off centre wife of Oliver. Her
kooky, scary performance is a delight, and rather unsettling. She lights up
the screen every time she appears. And, she looks exactly like her brother
John Cusack, which was certainly very scary.
There's a great soundtrack which certainly helps build up the tension, and
the cinematography is well done. But there's no denying the fact that
Arlington Road, while sporadically _truly_ enjoyable, is a case of style
over substance. Not a total failure, but it didn't live up to what should
have been an easy premise to follow. Although it hasn't got enough plot to
support itself, Arlington Road is certainly an interesting failure, but it
needs strengthening in certain parts.
RATING=**1/2 OUT OF *****
A David Wilcock Review ©1999
DAVID WILCOCK
david.wilcock@btinternet.com
Visit the Wilcock Movie Page!
http://www.wilcock54.freeserve.co.uk
Have I seen this movie: Yes
And what did I think: Terrorism is a scary subject, and Arlington Road shows us how a terrorist can be anyone, even your supposedly normal next door neighbor. Jeff Bridges plays a college professor who teaches about terrorism and begins to suspect his neighbors. Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack play the erie next door neighbors. Both Robbins and Bridges are excellent on screen. most of the movie is about Bridges trying to investigate his neighbor and isn't all that exciting. There are a few good scenes, such as the flashback of how Bridge's wife died. But the real shocker comes at the end of the movie with the excellent plot twist. I wasn't expecting it to end that way, because it's not typical of these type of movies. Other then the ending and Jeff Bridge's acting, Arlington Road doesn't offer us too much. I'm not sure if its worth renting, there are plenty of other good movies out there, but if you wait for it to come to cable, it's worth a look just for the ending alone.
I give Arlington Road 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Review written October 28, 1999.
