Arlington Road (1999)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Mark Pellington

Writer (WGA):

Ehren Kruger (written by)

Release Date:

9 July 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Fear Thy Neighbor

Plot:

A college professor begins to suspect that his neighbour is a terrorist.

Plot Keywords:

Professor | Neighbor | FBI | FBI Agent | Washington D.C.

Awards:

5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. July 14

8:00 AM

FX

Cast

Jeff Bridges	...	Michael Faraday
Tim Robbins	...	Oliver Lang
Joan Cusack	...	Cheryl Lang
Hope Davis	...	Brooke Wolfe
Robert Gossett	...	FBI Agent Whit Carver
Mason Gamble	...	Brady Lang
Spencer Treat Clark	...	Grant Faraday
Stanley Anderson	...	Dr. Archer Scobee
Viviane Vives	...	Nurse
Lee Stringer	...	Orderly
Darryl Cox	...	Troopmaster, Conspirator
Loyd Catlett	...	Delivery Man, Conspirator
Sid Hillman	...	Phone Technician, Conspirator
Auden Thornton	...	Hannah Lang
Mary Ashleigh Green	...	Daphne Lang

Also Known As:

Arlington Rd. (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and some language.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Iceland:16 | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #36250) | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Houston, Texas, USA

Company:

Arlington Road Productions Corporation

Trivia:

The car crash during the climactic chase scene was unplanned; the plan was for the car to duck behind the oncoming bus and complete the left turn. When the collision occurred, the car trunk sprung open, revealing the bright blue sandbags that had been placed there to allow certain stunts. The quick cuts following the collision are necessary to avoid showing the sandbags. Subsequent shots including the car had already been filmed, and show a markedly less-damaged car.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The amount of C4 in the car trunk is not even close to enough to destroy the building.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Oliver Lang: Where do we go from here?
Cheryl Lang: Someplace nice.
Oliver Lang: I hope so.
Cheryl Lang: Someplace safe.
Oliver Lang: Definitely.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Neon Reprise

Flawed but resonant film

It seems like every year, there's one or two films which are far from perfect but nonetheless shake us up in ways better films don't quite do. Last year, it was BULWORTH, and this year, it's ARLINGTON ROAD. Obviously, after all that's happened this decade in America, from Waco to Oklahoma City, the time is ripe for a movie to explore the cracks in the American dream which brought about events like those. This film ultimately asks more questions than it answers, but that may just be a condition inherent to this type of film. More troubling is two things: (1) Though I agree with those(and I'll try not to give away too much here) who theorize the ending changes the whole perspective of the film, there are still too many key narrative cheats(a conversation Robbins supposedly had with Bridges' son seems unbelievable, and the traffic light scene near the end also is) to make it fully effective; (2) The film seems a little confused of what it's about; it is a study of one man's psyche, or the nation's?

Still, ARLINGTON ROAD shouldn't be dismissed. There are troubling questions explored, and you don't have to be a conspiracy nut to believe those so-called "fringe" hate groups are entering the mainstream at a frightening rate for a so-called "civilized" society. The ending is also powerful, and though I understand it, more than anything else, was responsible for the delays, I applaud whoever was in charge for not changing it(though again, how they got there is another story). Bridges' performance is another thing which makes more sense once you look back with the ending of the film in mind, and it doesn't seem like over-acting. Robbins is a little more problematic; there are scenes where he's convincing, and then scenes where he goes over-the-top and shouldn't. Hope Davis doesn't have a big part, but she injects a lot into it as usual. But the biggest surprise here is Joan Cusack. Anyone who thinks of her only as a (good)comic actress will be in for a shock; there's one scene involving her which is the scariest in the film.

Again, ultimately, while it leaves you with nagging doubts about the quality, ARLINGTON ROAD makes you think enough to recommend it.