ARLINGTON ROAD RATING: 7 / 10 --> Good movie
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Okay, so this is one of the worst cases of a trailer giving away an entire film's premise step by little step, but I'm a fan of lanky actor Timmy Robbins, the aging but effective Jeff Bridges, and the cutest little patootie this side of a goofy aunt we've all known, Joan Cusack. Now let's see if this film can entertain me!
PLOT: University professor who teaches a class in domestic terrorism suspects his "Leave it to Beaver"-type next door neighbors as being a dressed-up family behind certain harrowing right-wing activities. Does the man suffer from mass paranoia due to his wife's death to extremists' hands, or is he right on the ball?
CRITIQUE: Despite its general predictability and slow start, this film did manage to grab me by the balls, and fingernail-biting wise, thoroughly entertain me for its very last half hour. In fact, the ending of this film was one of the most inspired that I've seen come out of Hollywood in a while. I personally enjoyed its refreshing conclusion, whilst my better half, Mrs. JoBlo, found it quite unsatisfying (She loved the film otherwise). It would be fair to say that this film's script is not its grandest asset, but that its director is the one who should be applauded for turning this sub-level thrilling story, into a most interesting thriller with a race to the finish ending from hell. The shooting style, the dark scenarios, the uneasy feel of its soundtrack (Note that the man behind those sounds is the very same man who composed many of weirdo director David Lynch's eerily satisfying soundtracks, Angelo Badalamenti) are three elements used effectively by the director to create a decent build-up of tension. It sorta felt like the movie FALLING DOWN for me, with a man literally "losing it" onscreen.
As the man who "loses it", Jeff Bridges staples his reputation as the actor with the fluffiest hair in Hollywood, a superb capacity to cry at a drop of a dime (A few less scenes of him tearing up might've improved my score as well) and the actor best to be remembered as the slow-motion running dude towards a camera. Despite those redundancies, Bridges did still manage to convey a real interesting man who slowly crumbles before our very eyes, while Robbins creepily presented his neighbor as a sorted side-dish to the hodge-podge of mayhem. Liking Joan Cusack as I do, I wished they'd have used her more often in this film, but that predicament was clearly not to be. Add an extremely powerful opening scene, a slow-to-get-going first hour, a semi-predictable plot to the stylish wonders of the director, an effective soundtrack, and some decent acting gigs by all involved, and you've got yourself an above-average thriller that doesn't break much new ground, but certainly entertains as a whole. The original ending might turn some off, but certainly, it helped in certifying my own opinion of this film towards the green light of recommendation.
No need to see this puppy in the theatres, but certainly an entertaining video/nacho night treat. Just make sure that you don't watch it with your neighbors : )
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: Screenwriter Ehren Kruger admits that, "Some of the best scenes in the movie came out of the rehearsal process." He claims that he cannot take credit for a lot of the best dialogue which "was improvised by these terrific actors." This film is his first produced script. It won him the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences prestigious Nicholl Fellowship for achievement in screenwriting in 1996. Director Mark Pellington's wife was the costume designer on this picture. She is Jennifer Barrett-Pellington. This is Mark's second feature film after 1996's GOING ALL THE WAY. In 1992, he won the "Best Director" prize at the Billboard Video Music Awards, for his work on the Pearl Jam video "Jeremy". It also earned him four MTV Video Awards in 1993, including Best Director and Video of the Year. Actor Jeff Bridges has been nominated for three Academy Awards, for THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, THUNDERBOLT & LIGHTFOOT and STARMAN. He is the brother of actor Beau Bridges. "Beau" means "pretty" in French. Does anyone remember actress Joan Cusack from her gig on TV's "Saturday Night Live" during the 1985-86 season? I sure didn't.
Review Date: July 7, 1999
Director: Mark Pellington
Writer: Ehren Kruger
Producers: Peter Samuelson, Tom Gorai and Marc Samuelson
Actors: Jeff Bridges as Michael Faraday
Tim Robbins as Oliver Lang
Joan Cusack as Cheryl Lang
Genre: Thriller
Year of Release: 1999
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(c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
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