Arlington Road (1999)

Arlington Road: Directed by Mark Pellington. With Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, Hope Davis. A man begins to suspect his neighbors are not what they appear to be and their secrets could be deadly.

“Professor Faraday teaches on terrorism and FBI tactics in Washington, despite losing his wife in a blundered FBI raid on suspected terrorists. When new neighbours move in next door he begins to suspect that the husband Oliver Lang has a double life and may be part of an internal terrorist movement. However as he looks into Langu0026#39;s past the evidence seems to lead nowhere – is he just being paranoid?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis starts well. It feeds off the US paranoia that has arisen from the fact that they are as likely to be attacked from within as they are from external agents. That said we are really not sure if Lang has a past or if Faraday is just paranoid. This tension is good right up till the lines are drawn in the sand and goodies and baddies are identified. At this point it becomes a more traditional cat and mouse thriller – but even then it is better than most of the same ilk. The tension builds to a great ending whose only fault is dragging itu0026#39;s point out over a few minutes.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBridges is great as the crumbling Faraday – he sometimes get a little bug-eye crazy at times but overall he works very well. Robbins is also good for the most part – his average Joe with bite act is good and his ruthless terrorist (maybe!) has some genuine menace about it. However outside of the main two I canu0026#39;t say anyone caught my eye in particular.- but they were all good nevertheless.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall this is a superior thriller that trades off USA fear of internal terrorism. The plot may be a little too neat at times, but the ending is worth seeing.”