Arlington Road Review

Widower Michael Faraday, Jeff Bridges, teaches American history and lives in the suburbs of Washington with his son. His wife, an FBI agent, was killed in a Waco-like shootout, and he`s become obsessed with the idea that terrorist groups are at large in America. When Michael saves the life of an injured boy, he meets the boy`s parents, his new neighbours - Oliver and Cheryl Lang, Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack. Lang is an architect working, he says, on a new shopping mall; and, although he`s fairly obviously on the right of American politics, he and Michael share a concern about the federal government. But there`s something suspicious about the Langs...Several American films lately, including The Siege and The X Files, have referred to the terrorist bombings of U.S. Federal buildings. That`s the sub-text of Arlington Road, an award-winning screenplay which has been intelligently directed by Mark Pellington, who previously made Going All The Way. Basically this is a conspiracy theory thriller, which harks back to 70s films like The Parallax View, but what`s fascinating here is the explicit link drawn between the leftwing Faraday and his right wing neighbour - they`re even mistaken for one another at one point, and they certainly seem like two sides of the same coin - two articulate, concerned men. Fine performances from the always reliable Bridges and Robbins enhance the parallels. Ultimately this is a bleak, thoughtful film, and a welcome change from the lower-common denominator schlock that passes as a thriller so often these days.Margaret`s CommentArlington Road boasts a self-importance it actually doesn`t deserve, a sort of Oliver Stone clone. It`s basically a thriller with a great ending. Unfortunately it telegraphs its intentions in the script and in the performances of Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack, we know they`re only superficially good neighbours and that underneath they`re bad right from the beginning. How much better this film might have been had they played it straight. But they`re not the only performances in town that jar, Jeff Bridges sleepwalks his way yet again through another role. He`s such a fine actor on occasions but is underwhelming in this. Mark Pellington`s direction underscores the lack of subtlety in the screenplay.