Arlington Road by DeWyNGaLe (John Sylva) Rating: A-
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Arlington Road is a relieving summer film, as we get away from special effects extravaganzas, into a spellbinding film marvelously crafted by director Mark Pellington and first time screenwriter, Ehren Kruger. Arlington Road's clever script features many horrifying, tense sequences in which the viewer is brought into the film, and in result, fear their own neighbors, friends, and possibly even family. Ehren Kruger takes a chance with his non Hollywood script, which includes a depressing ending that is impossible to see coming.
Arlington Road's concept deals with Washington State University terrorism professor, Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges), who suffered the loss of his F.B.I. agent wife in a shootout, and lives with son Grant (Spencer Treat Clark) and occasionally girlfriend Brooke (Hope Davis) on the quiet, peaceful street that is Arlington Road. In Arlington Road's well-photographed opening sequence, Michael Faraday saves the young Brady Lang, whom he finds in the middle of the street wounded terribly. After rescuing Brady, Michael is introduced to his parents, who live just across the street, Oliver (Tim Robbins) and Cheryl (Joan Cusack) Lang. The pleasant neighbors have kept to themselves for their time living there, but quickly become friends with Michael and Brooke. Clues lead up to Michael believing his Brady Bunch type neighbors are actually terrorists, and learns that Oliver has a terrorist past, and is ready to strike again.
The screenplay feeds Jeff Bridges an array of conflict to handle, as Faraday constantly conflicts between his deceased wife and girlfriend Brooke, his neighbors who are turning his life into a 24-hour scare, and must decipher what is happening in his life, whether his terrorism college course is getting to his head, whether to look past his wife, and look at Brooke, and how to handle the situation across the street. Jeff Bridges handles all tasks well in deed, as he exhibits a performance which is both applaudable and unwatchable, as his facial expressions are so tense, they become hideous. Bridges rehearses every line and every move with a certain amount of tenseness, which helps create the well-written character's fear of Oliver and Cheryl, as he is the only one who knows that he has stumbled upon something big.
Hope Davis gives a shockingly down to earth performance, and fits her character's shoes well, as she must deal with her paranoid boyfriend, while all she wants to do is lead a happy life. Hints of Brooke giving in to Michael's beliefs come frequently, but the apparent gut feeling never comes out of her, until she discovers the truth for herself.
Joan Cusack and Tim Robbins are particularly eerie as the picture perfect neighbors, which turn out to be not so perfect in the end. Cusack gets to show off the darker side of her acting skills as a character that is common in everyone's everyday lives, therefore the scariness of her character seems realistic, and will you make you question your own neighbors. Cusack is horrifying as Cheryl Lang, as every smile, every move, and every word from her are chilling, as she seems to be Miss Goody-Goody to everyone, but the viewers know the devastating truth. Tim Robbins isn't given much to do as the main antagonist, but does what he can, delivering an utterly horrifying performance. Oliver's past isn't developed well, and is explained by Oliver to Michael in a frightening scene, where Oliver reveals his motives. Oliver's motive just adds to the tension between himself and Michael, and doesn't seem out of place, as many horror films have demonstrated motive sequences which seem strange, as the killers have a perfect chance to dispose of their victim, but go on about their past, as the victim slowly devises a plan to defend themselves. Arlington Road's motive sequence is something realistic, that a person would actually do, to darken the protagonist's world more than they already have.
Ehren Kruger's screenplay stays true to the key plot of the film, but also contains an abundance of subplots, which all contribute to the overall greatness of the film. Each character is a three dimensional, realistic person with distinctive thoughts and personalities, that aren't your regular movie characters, which usually don't act like people do, as in last spring's Analyze This, where the characters were anything but human.
Even now, days after viewing this film, I feel fear deep within, as I glance over my shoulder every few seconds, just for that extra ounce of security that I lost while viewing Arlington Road. The screenplay does what I like best, save the good part for last, as the entire ending 45 minutes are particularly unsettling, as Michael's suspicions become reality, and the film gets down to the real nitty-gritty. The disturbing score, the edgy script, the terrific ensemble cast, and original directing all contribute to make this wonderful presentation of pure, raw terror.
The Bottom Line- Arlington Road was supposed to hit theaters in May, but due to the tragic Columbine High School shootings, the film was delayed. The tagline for last spring's film Never Been Kissed best sums up my thoughts with the line-- "Some things are worth waiting for."
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