This absorbing conspiracy thriller shows how one man's experiences, grief and academic preoccupations make him fearful, paranoid and emotionally unstable. It begins impressively with a really gripping opening sequence and then, after telling his story, leads to a shocking climax that vindicates his behaviour in the most tragic way possible. The expert pacing of the on-screen action contributes enormously to its tense atmosphere and Angelo Badalamenti's unsettling score complements the mood of the piece perfectly.
Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges), a history professor at George Washington University, is driving along a suburban street one day when he sees a 10-year-old boy staggering along in the middle of the road. When he catches up with him, it quickly becomes apparent that the boy is badly burned, bleeding and has a serious arm injury. Michael rushes him to the nearest hospital and after treatment the boy recovers well. His father and mother, Oliver (Tim Robbins) and Cheryl (Joan Cusack) Lang, who live in the same neighbourhood as Michael are extremely grateful and following this incident they, Michael and his girlfriend Brooke (Hope Davis) become friends.
Michael's going through a difficult time bringing up his 9-year-old son, being involved in a relatively new relationship and trying to come to terms with the death of his wife, an FBI Agent who'd been killed during an incompetently-handled raid on a location where a large quantity of guns and ammunition were reported to have been stockpiled. When he starts to doubt the veracity of some information that Oliver tells him about his background and realises that his neighbour (who's a structural engineer), lied to him about the nature of a project he's working on, Michael does some research which reveals that Oliver is using a false identity and in his youth, had been arrested for planting a bomb in a government building.
Naturally disturbed by his findings, Michael is frustrated by the reactions of Brooke and Agent Whit Carver (Robert Gossett) who was his wife's former partner in the FBI. They both seem to think he's being paranoid and rationalise his findings in different ways. Michael's passionate about the course he teaches on domestic terrorism and often expresses his scepticism about official explanations for acts of terrorism which are typically claimed to be the work of an individual. The more convinced he becomes that his neighbours are involved in something suspicious, the more determined he becomes to thwart their plans and this puts his life and the lives of everyone close to him, in great danger.
"Arlington Road" is entertaining, thought-provoking and has some interesting plot twists. Its characters are well-drawn and its cast provides some strong performances. Jeff Bridges is very natural in his portrayal of an ordinary man who starts to unravel alarmingly and Tim Robbins is utterly convincing as he combines a façade of suburban respectability with Oliver's more sinister side. Joan Cusack is also brilliantly creepy and provides one of the movie's outstanding moments when, after overhearing a telephone call made by Brooke, makes the very benign word "shopping" sound incredibly chilling.
Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges), a history professor at George Washington University, is driving along a suburban street one day when he sees a 10-year-old boy staggering along in the middle of the road. When he catches up with him, it quickly becomes apparent that the boy is badly burned, bleeding and has a serious arm injury. Michael rushes him to the nearest hospital and after treatment the boy recovers well. His father and mother, Oliver (Tim Robbins) and Cheryl (Joan Cusack) Lang, who live in the same neighbourhood as Michael are extremely grateful and following this incident they, Michael and his girlfriend Brooke (Hope Davis) become friends.
Michael's going through a difficult time bringing up his 9-year-old son, being involved in a relatively new relationship and trying to come to terms with the death of his wife, an FBI Agent who'd been killed during an incompetently-handled raid on a location where a large quantity of guns and ammunition were reported to have been stockpiled. When he starts to doubt the veracity of some information that Oliver tells him about his background and realises that his neighbour (who's a structural engineer), lied to him about the nature of a project he's working on, Michael does some research which reveals that Oliver is using a false identity and in his youth, had been arrested for planting a bomb in a government building.
Naturally disturbed by his findings, Michael is frustrated by the reactions of Brooke and Agent Whit Carver (Robert Gossett) who was his wife's former partner in the FBI. They both seem to think he's being paranoid and rationalise his findings in different ways. Michael's passionate about the course he teaches on domestic terrorism and often expresses his scepticism about official explanations for acts of terrorism which are typically claimed to be the work of an individual. The more convinced he becomes that his neighbours are involved in something suspicious, the more determined he becomes to thwart their plans and this puts his life and the lives of everyone close to him, in great danger.
"Arlington Road" is entertaining, thought-provoking and has some interesting plot twists. Its characters are well-drawn and its cast provides some strong performances. Jeff Bridges is very natural in his portrayal of an ordinary man who starts to unravel alarmingly and Tim Robbins is utterly convincing as he combines a façade of suburban respectability with Oliver's more sinister side. Joan Cusack is also brilliantly creepy and provides one of the movie's outstanding moments when, after overhearing a telephone call made by Brooke, makes the very benign word "shopping" sound incredibly chilling.