I will try to avoid major spoilers but it would be nearly impossible with such problem plot.
Arlington Road is a movie that is very promising in its beginning but immensely goes downhill when the story unfolds. It is devoted to one of the biggest problems of modern society terrorism. And here is the main and insoluble problem of the movie the plot. The movie with such actual and troubled theme needs more than others movies a well-developed and plausible story but too many things go wrong in Arlington Road. Our main hero is widowed college professor Grant Faraday (played by Jeff Bridges), who has nine years old son and recently lost his wife, a FBI agent. The conception of her death during some anti-terrorist action and what is more the scene of ten years old kid shooting at strangers by the reason of guarding his home is ridiculously preposterous and disturbing as hell. For some coincidence (it is really impossible to count such coincidences in this story) our college professor teaches some indeterminate subject about terrorists and their way of thinking. One day after an accident with a little boy, he carries him into the hospital and than he finds out that he is a son of his new neighbor (played by Timm Robbins). He doesn't know anything about him but the boys become friends and this family is looking very friendly. But after noticing some strange things our hero begins to suspect that his neighbor is not the man he claims himself to be. His doubts become suspicions and grow more and more when trying to finds out who his neighbor is our professor finds out that years ago that man has been involved in a terrorist attack against a government building. After a series of hardly believable coincidences he will know truth and get involved in events he never expected to. But even all that I saw on screen before last fifteen minutes I can describe mostly as hardly believable, the preposterous ending ruined everything. Professor Faraday in a critical confrontation beat up our evil genius (Tim Robbins character) he leaves him and run but after that the person he just beat up and left gives a command to begin their plan. Climatic chase scene was ridiculous and the precise ending I agreed with all people here who said that it was one of the most unexpected plot twists I have ever seen but in the same time it was certainly the most ridiculous and implausible (not to mention one of the most disturbing) movie ending I have ever seen. I think only people who want suspense at any price can accept such course of events. I finally we get an explanation that practically everything from the beginning to the end of the story was planned by mentioned evil genius. Give me a break, please. And I don't even mention all numerous stereotypes in the movie.
Besides that the point of the movie is unclear to me and I can't imagine a movie with such theme without it. Beware your neighbor? As it was already noticed in other reviews this is trivial fed for paranoia. Our society always balances between total neglect of a problem and such paranoia and both extremes are equally dangerous. The other possible idea here is that terrorist attack can't be organized and performed by a single person. That doesn't work much better because the movie doesn't show any strong steady organization around Oliver Lange. All that we can see is several people, most of them are definitely mentally sick, united and most likely manipulated by a very cunning fanatical person.
With such story the acting (which is definitely not bad) is practically wasted but there is no point to blame actors or director because I believe that no one could make anything decent working with such ridiculous and implausible script.
My grade 3 out of 10 (mainly for decent acting). Thanks for reading and sorry for my bad English.
Arlington Road is a movie that is very promising in its beginning but immensely goes downhill when the story unfolds. It is devoted to one of the biggest problems of modern society terrorism. And here is the main and insoluble problem of the movie the plot. The movie with such actual and troubled theme needs more than others movies a well-developed and plausible story but too many things go wrong in Arlington Road. Our main hero is widowed college professor Grant Faraday (played by Jeff Bridges), who has nine years old son and recently lost his wife, a FBI agent. The conception of her death during some anti-terrorist action and what is more the scene of ten years old kid shooting at strangers by the reason of guarding his home is ridiculously preposterous and disturbing as hell. For some coincidence (it is really impossible to count such coincidences in this story) our college professor teaches some indeterminate subject about terrorists and their way of thinking. One day after an accident with a little boy, he carries him into the hospital and than he finds out that he is a son of his new neighbor (played by Timm Robbins). He doesn't know anything about him but the boys become friends and this family is looking very friendly. But after noticing some strange things our hero begins to suspect that his neighbor is not the man he claims himself to be. His doubts become suspicions and grow more and more when trying to finds out who his neighbor is our professor finds out that years ago that man has been involved in a terrorist attack against a government building. After a series of hardly believable coincidences he will know truth and get involved in events he never expected to. But even all that I saw on screen before last fifteen minutes I can describe mostly as hardly believable, the preposterous ending ruined everything. Professor Faraday in a critical confrontation beat up our evil genius (Tim Robbins character) he leaves him and run but after that the person he just beat up and left gives a command to begin their plan. Climatic chase scene was ridiculous and the precise ending I agreed with all people here who said that it was one of the most unexpected plot twists I have ever seen but in the same time it was certainly the most ridiculous and implausible (not to mention one of the most disturbing) movie ending I have ever seen. I think only people who want suspense at any price can accept such course of events. I finally we get an explanation that practically everything from the beginning to the end of the story was planned by mentioned evil genius. Give me a break, please. And I don't even mention all numerous stereotypes in the movie.
Besides that the point of the movie is unclear to me and I can't imagine a movie with such theme without it. Beware your neighbor? As it was already noticed in other reviews this is trivial fed for paranoia. Our society always balances between total neglect of a problem and such paranoia and both extremes are equally dangerous. The other possible idea here is that terrorist attack can't be organized and performed by a single person. That doesn't work much better because the movie doesn't show any strong steady organization around Oliver Lange. All that we can see is several people, most of them are definitely mentally sick, united and most likely manipulated by a very cunning fanatical person.
With such story the acting (which is definitely not bad) is practically wasted but there is no point to blame actors or director because I believe that no one could make anything decent working with such ridiculous and implausible script.
My grade 3 out of 10 (mainly for decent acting). Thanks for reading and sorry for my bad English.