A man begins to suspect his neighbors are not what they appear to be and their secrets could be deadly.A man begins to suspect his neighbors are not what they appear to be and their secrets could be deadly.A man begins to suspect his neighbors are not what they appear to be and their secrets could be deadly.
- Awards
- 5 nominations total
Jenni Tooley
- Ponytail Girl
- (as Jennie Tooley)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
The story starts with a shocker. A wounded boy goes down the street while blood drops drip to the asphalt. It's the most adequate beginning of a movie like this. (see synopsis). I did like screenplay and the characters, they are well written. The cast acts passionate and keeps the movie fluent. There is a twist I didn't see coming and I think the whole scenario is frightening. I was well entertained, so I recommend it.
Maybe I'm very easily amused, but I thought this was one of the best movies I've ever seen about the sinking abyss of paranoia. I think it's very difficult to make a believable movie about paranoia, and 'Arlington Road' is very believable--as least, while you're watching it.
Admittedly, after you've seen it, you'll see the holes, and how you've been manipulated--but while you're watching it, you'll be just as confused as Bridges' character, wondering, "is he right? Or just a nutcase?"
This movie operates entirely on the psychological plane. There aren't lots of cool explosions (well, OK, a few) and there isn't an expensive car being smashed every five minutes or someone's head being blown open with a handgun. Yet it leaves you breathless, panicked, scared, and disturbed. How easy is *that* to do without endless special effects?
Some have complained that the timing of Robbins' character catching Bridges red-handed over and over was lame and unbelievable. I think they've missed the point--it adds to the confusion, the paranoia, and the madness of Bridges' character, and to ours also.
In fact, the entire movie is structured this way. Just when the plot seems predictable and we think we can settle back and watch it follow a familiar formula, the rug is yanked away and we don't know what to believe. This happens not once, but constantly.
If you have to categorize it, think of it as 'The Sting', with a dastardly political agend--in other words, the gentile crime of that 1920's piece fast-forwarded into the dismal world of moral-less America, circa 1999.
The ending was extremely un-Hollywood, and left me angry, disturbed, and unsettled. And this, friends, is why Hollywood doesn't make movies like this. All anyone has complained about is how unsettling it is. Well, the next time you watch a movie end in a boring, predictable way, remember that it's probably making more money and wooing more critics and fans than 'Arlington Road'. (Reminds one of what they kept saying in 'The Player': "because *that's* reality!")
As an aside, the opening credits were the spookiest I've ever seen. They set the tone perfectly for a movie that reflects the existential, empty, lonely, scary, frightening world that may or may not be right out our very door.
If you enjoy watching a movie that will cause you to slam your fist on the arm of your chair, put you in a bad mood for the next day, make you yell at the news "YEAH RIGHT!" and wonder if you'll ever know "The Truth" about ANYTHING, this is your flick. I recommend it to anyone who wants some vinegar to balance the sugar of everything else made by Hollywood, and a reminder that things are rarely what they seem.
Admittedly, after you've seen it, you'll see the holes, and how you've been manipulated--but while you're watching it, you'll be just as confused as Bridges' character, wondering, "is he right? Or just a nutcase?"
This movie operates entirely on the psychological plane. There aren't lots of cool explosions (well, OK, a few) and there isn't an expensive car being smashed every five minutes or someone's head being blown open with a handgun. Yet it leaves you breathless, panicked, scared, and disturbed. How easy is *that* to do without endless special effects?
Some have complained that the timing of Robbins' character catching Bridges red-handed over and over was lame and unbelievable. I think they've missed the point--it adds to the confusion, the paranoia, and the madness of Bridges' character, and to ours also.
In fact, the entire movie is structured this way. Just when the plot seems predictable and we think we can settle back and watch it follow a familiar formula, the rug is yanked away and we don't know what to believe. This happens not once, but constantly.
If you have to categorize it, think of it as 'The Sting', with a dastardly political agend--in other words, the gentile crime of that 1920's piece fast-forwarded into the dismal world of moral-less America, circa 1999.
The ending was extremely un-Hollywood, and left me angry, disturbed, and unsettled. And this, friends, is why Hollywood doesn't make movies like this. All anyone has complained about is how unsettling it is. Well, the next time you watch a movie end in a boring, predictable way, remember that it's probably making more money and wooing more critics and fans than 'Arlington Road'. (Reminds one of what they kept saying in 'The Player': "because *that's* reality!")
As an aside, the opening credits were the spookiest I've ever seen. They set the tone perfectly for a movie that reflects the existential, empty, lonely, scary, frightening world that may or may not be right out our very door.
If you enjoy watching a movie that will cause you to slam your fist on the arm of your chair, put you in a bad mood for the next day, make you yell at the news "YEAH RIGHT!" and wonder if you'll ever know "The Truth" about ANYTHING, this is your flick. I recommend it to anyone who wants some vinegar to balance the sugar of everything else made by Hollywood, and a reminder that things are rarely what they seem.
"Arlington Road" is a Crime - Thriller in which we watch a man saving the life of a young boy and after meeting the boy's parents starts to suspect them believing that the aren't what they appear to be. He finds some secrets but some of them could be deadly for everyone.
I liked this movie because it had a very interesting plot with some plot twists that not only I couldn't predict but I couldn't even think. The direction which was made by Mark Pellington was exceptional and he did a very good job at it and succeeded on transferring the mystery and the agony of the main characters to the audience. The interpretations of both Tim Robbins who played as Oliver Lang and Jeff Bridges who played as Michael Faraday were simply amazing. I highly recommend everyone to watch this movie because I am sure that you won't be disappointed.
I liked this movie because it had a very interesting plot with some plot twists that not only I couldn't predict but I couldn't even think. The direction which was made by Mark Pellington was exceptional and he did a very good job at it and succeeded on transferring the mystery and the agony of the main characters to the audience. The interpretations of both Tim Robbins who played as Oliver Lang and Jeff Bridges who played as Michael Faraday were simply amazing. I highly recommend everyone to watch this movie because I am sure that you won't be disappointed.
Professor Faraday teaches on terrorism and FBI tactics in Washington, despite losing his wife in a blundered FBI raid on suspected terrorists. When new neighbours move in next door he begins to suspect that the husband Oliver Lang has a double life and may be part of an internal terrorist movement. However as he looks into Lang's past the evidence seems to lead nowhere is he just being paranoid?
This starts well. It feeds off the US paranoia that has arisen from the fact that they are as likely to be attacked from within as they are from external agents. That said we are really not sure if Lang has a past or if Faraday is just paranoid. This tension is good right up till the lines are drawn in the sand and goodies and baddies are identified. At this point it becomes a more traditional cat and mouse thriller but even then it is better than most of the same ilk. The tension builds to a great ending whose only fault is dragging it's point out over a few minutes.
Bridges is great as the crumbling Faraday he sometimes get a little bug-eye crazy at times but overall he works very well. Robbins is also good for the most part his average Joe with bite act is good and his ruthless terrorist (maybe!) has some genuine menace about it. However outside of the main two I can't say anyone caught my eye in particular.- but they were all good nevertheless.
Overall this is a superior thriller that trades off USA fear of internal terrorism. The plot may be a little too neat at times, but the ending is worth seeing.
This starts well. It feeds off the US paranoia that has arisen from the fact that they are as likely to be attacked from within as they are from external agents. That said we are really not sure if Lang has a past or if Faraday is just paranoid. This tension is good right up till the lines are drawn in the sand and goodies and baddies are identified. At this point it becomes a more traditional cat and mouse thriller but even then it is better than most of the same ilk. The tension builds to a great ending whose only fault is dragging it's point out over a few minutes.
Bridges is great as the crumbling Faraday he sometimes get a little bug-eye crazy at times but overall he works very well. Robbins is also good for the most part his average Joe with bite act is good and his ruthless terrorist (maybe!) has some genuine menace about it. However outside of the main two I can't say anyone caught my eye in particular.- but they were all good nevertheless.
Overall this is a superior thriller that trades off USA fear of internal terrorism. The plot may be a little too neat at times, but the ending is worth seeing.
Although the storyline's "coincidental" nature seems a bit sloppy, "Arlington Road" is a decent thriller with a great climax. The film gets tense twenty minutes in and the tension does not go down until the very end. Jeff Bridges' powerhouse performance as Prof. Michael Faraday and Tim Robbins' portrayal of the suspected neighbor Oliver Lang make the film even more enjoyable.
It must be one of the best conspiracy thrillers out there for the genre lovers.
It must be one of the best conspiracy thrillers out there for the genre lovers.
Did you know
- TriviaIn early drafts of the film script, the Oklahoma City bombing was literally referenced. By the time of the shooting script the location of the bombing referenced was changed to St. Louis.
- GoofsThe amount of C4 in the car trunk is not even close to enough to destroy the building. Also, more than one explosion is shown, including one a few stories up, impossible from a single car bomb in an underground parking area.
- 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.
- Alternate versionsThe DVD release contains an extended alternate ending showing Grant and Oliver having a conversation that hints that Grant may know the truth about what happened to his father.
- SoundtracksNeon Reprise
Written by Simon Shackleton & Howard Saunders
Performed by Lunatic Calm
Published by MCA Music Ltd. And Junkbond Ltd. And Wardlaw Music
All rights for the Western Hemisphere and Southeast Asia
Controlled and administered by MCA Music Publishing, a Division of Universal Studios, Inc. (ASCAP)
Lunatic Calm courtesy of MCA Records UK
Under license from Universal Music Special Markets
- How long is Arlington Road?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Terror en la calle Arlington
- Filming locations
- University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA(as George Washington University)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $31,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $24,756,177
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,515,145
- Jul 11, 1999
- Gross worldwide
- $41,067,311
- Runtime1 hour 57 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
