A movie topic taken from not-so-recent headlines, Arlington Road addresses American terrorism and the suspicion an average citizen develops as a result. In a post-Columbine atmosphere, we’ve become increasingly paranoid about what might be going on in the house across the street. Arlington Road asks, “What if an anti-government terrorist moved into your neighborhood?”
Jeff Bridges plays the obsessive paranoid professor Michael Faraday. His FBI agent wife’s recent death and his immersion in the militia movement subject matter he teaches at George Washington University contribute to the distrust he feels toward his new neighbors, the Langs. Faraday’s son Grant (Spencer Treat Clark) befriends the new kid and together they join the Junior Discovery troop. Jeff Bridges is initially pleased that Grant has socializing to take his mind off the absence of his mother, but becomes nervous as his suspicion mounts. Grant inevitably becomes the focus of a ‘child in peril’ subplot typical of Hollywood suspense movies with families in them. Jeff Bridges gives a fine performance here. He’s one of the better actors around but always seems to skirt major success. If this movie strikes a popular chord, this could be his ticket to better paychecks and flashier roles.
Tim Robbins plays the cardigan-wearing, milk-drinking Oliver Lang. It’s apparent from the moment he appears on screen for the first time that his outward appearance is intended to disguise something. It doesn’t take an advanced degree to realize he’s up to no good. Arlington Road is billed as a suspense movie but there really isn’t much. The movie spends a lot of time trying to establish Oliver Lang as an enigmatic character. Is he or isn’t he? It all seemed pretty obvious to me because we already know from movie history that our suspicions are correct. (Also because the damn previews give practically the entire movie away.) There would be no movie without the suspicion. Wouldn’t it be a great twist in a film with big stars and a big budget if all the music cues and all the dramatic eye contact turned out to be nothing more than overreacting? And that Tim Robbins’ character was just Joe Neighbor in the wrong place at the wrong time?
But that isn’t the way it works in America. Maybe in a Dutch film. In this movie, there really isn’t ever a question. The Langs are initially presented as all-American; bathed in white sunlight and backyard barbecues, establishing normalcy and the ‘threat could be anywhere’ tension. The family gets progressively creepier, especially Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack, whose tremendous talent is wasted here. She inexplicably gets more angular and stern throughout the movie, evolving both visually and behaviorally. Joan really ought to stick to comedy. Tim Robbins, on the other hand, is given a meaty role and he’s a great bad guy. The movie belongs to him.
If it sounds like a predictable ending is in store, forget it. It came as somewhat of a surprise to me, as I’m sure it will others, undoubtedly angering those who prefer tidy finales. Frankly, I was impressed that a movie released in July 1999 would have the cajones to wrap things up the way Arlington Road does. Test audiences be damned, apparently. I overheard members of the audience complaining on the way out of the theater about the finish, which made me admire it even more for bucking convention. The ending opens up a big can of worms and was easily the most interesting part of the movie.
The out-of-focus fade-ins to early scenes are perhaps a literal foreshadowing by the filmmakers to hide the giant holes in the plot. Holes so big you could drive a tractor through them. Jeff Bridges’ initial suspicion is aroused by a rolled up blueprint? Why the framed blueprint anyway? He falls asleep on a lawn chair in his yard with the yearbook open to the incriminating page? When he realizes Tim Robbins is not Ward Cleaver, why does he automatically assume there’s a bombing conspiracy in the works? The script, by Ehren Kruger, is well written and doesn’t drag, but it does leave a lot unexplained. Arlington Road doesn’t live up to its potential. It’s caught between summer blockbuster and thought-provoking political commentary.
+ David Kern
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