Cheap Arlington Road (DVD) (Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack) (Mark Pellington) Price

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Customer Reviews of Arlington Road

A gripping, clever and terrifying thriller.
This movie grabbed me by the nuts within the first 5 minutes and didn't let go. I was instantly intrigued by Arlington Road's professionality and its love for its characters. It really likes to play with your mind and even in the first few minutes or so, Arlington Road's twists and turns give you the chillie willies. The movie explores the characters and their emotions before going into the thrills, and it worked like a charm. I wish all thrillers were like this, but Arlington Road is a rare kind, it's unique, brilliantly made and amazingly scripted. The mood and atmosphere of Arlington Road is creepy and misty and the way above-average techno horror soundtrack matches all the chilling sequences is neat. The performances are outstanding, with Jeff Bridges giving an excellent performance of a man who's paranoia is slowing killing him, while Tim Robbins is wonderfully evil and mysterious as the not-so-nice next door neighbour. Joan Cusack is a great supporting character but she should've had more to do with the evil side of things. The movie has one of the most chilling opening sequences of 1999 and the climax is brilliant and gut-punching and it is one of the best in any movie of any year. The movie scared the nachos out of me and definitely made me think about my next door neighbours. The film's goals are certainly achieved and as far as I know, it is highly praised by critics and viewers. The script is written by Ehren Kruger who also wrote Scream 3. I loved that movie but not half as much as I love this one. Ehren has done a bang-up job on his script and he packs in plenty of depth, chills and tension. Add to that Mark Pellington's fabulous, focused and full-on direction, the extremely satisfying acting and you get perfection in almost all areas of filmmaking. A jolting psychological thriller, and one of the smartest dramas of 1999!

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Makes too many assumptions.
Given the events of the past decade, "Arlington Road" is certainly timely enough to scare an audience. The movie adeptly plays on our paranoia -- who WOULDN'T be suspicious of the robotically smiling Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack, let alone their daughter who apparently stepped out of "Children of the Corn" to slum it in the suburbs? The set-up is wacky: this creepy family moves in next-door to a professor of terrorism (portrayed by Jeff Bridges). The overplotted movie soon renders that coincidence less stunning. I found myself doubting that the suburban terrorists could so easily jerk our hero around like a puppet. As played (brilliantly, in my opinion) by Bridges, this character is too high-strung and downright mentally disturbed to be manipulated into pursuing his own investigation of his neighbors . . . I mean, this guy looks as if he can barely tie his shoes. Bridges' performance makes you uncomfortable because his grief over his dead wife is real in an ugly, non-leading-man way. It's a brave job. Robbins, on the other hand, with his militia haircut and monotone voice doesn't convey normalcy for one second -- it's a typical "villain" portrayal. Acting like a real human being would've profited the film, adding to the suspense: as in, is he a terrorist or isn't he? Bridges, with his roiling eyeballs and sweaty face, is the prime source of suspense herein.

The ending, by the way, is a cheap shot. The purpose seems to be to shock the audience rather than follow the logic of the story.

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Intense, chilling & thought provoking.
You come to a movie like this, if you are like me, thinking that it is another propaganda attempt by the left, trying to convince you that Christians with bibles are loonies that go around blowing up stuff. Thankfully Mark Pellington (Director) opted for something more realistic than that stereotypical portrayal.

There are no madmen, in the conventional sense, in this film, just ordinary people with grudges. People who have been hurt by the government and want to get back at it for what they perceive to be injustices. Pellington also reminds us that we are so quick to find scapegoats to blame because it gives us a sense of relief, a feeling that all is once again right with the world, and that acts of terrorism can only be carried out by 'others' not by people like us. I don't want to give you the wrong impression however, because this is certainly not a didactic movie.

As to the movie itself, the plot is cleverly written and you definitely feel the tension and suspense building as the movie progresses. The characters are believable and frightening because of their normality. Joan Cusack was perfectly cast as the wife of the half-sane, half mad terrorist. I still can't get forget that sinister smile of hers. Tim Robbin's character was credible, with the right balance of insanity and reason. He definitely wasn't the 'typical villain.' As for Bridges, he was the one who made this whole movie work, without him the movie would have flopped.

I would highly recommend this movie, I don't give too many movies 5 stars but this one definitely deserved it. Arlington Road has a great cast, a great storyline, but best of all, it gets you to thinking about terrorism and what motivates terrorists. This is a very relevant movie, especially after the events of 9/11.