Plot
A college professor begins to suspect that his neighbour is a terrorist.
Release Year: 1999
Rating: 7.2/10 (43,914 voted)
Critic's Score: 65/100
Director:
Mark Pellington
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack
Storyline Widowed when his FBI agent wife is killed in an FBI anti-terrorist operation gone wrong, a college professor becomes increasingly obsessed with the culture and sub-society of these dangerous groups. The arrival of new neighbors, gives him new spirit, as they are gregarious and friendly, with two children that his son can be friends with. He is even beginning to see another woman. However, he begins to suspect something is odd about the neighbors, something about the way they don't want him to see certain parts of the house, or a set of blueprints they have there. Are his neighbors terrorists... or is the stress of losing his wife merely driving him past the point of paranoia?
Cast: Jeff Bridges
-
Michael Faraday
Tim Robbins
-
Oliver Lang
Joan Cusack
-
Cheryl Lang
Hope Davis
-
Brooke Wolfe
Robert Gossett
-
FBI Agent Whit Carver
Mason Gamble
-
Brady Lang
Spencer Treat Clark
-
Grant Faraday
Stanley Anderson
-
Dr. Archer Scobee
Viviane Vives
-
Nurse
Lee Stringer
-
Orderly
Darryl Cox
-
Troopmaster
Loyd Catlett
-
Delivery Man
Sid Hillman
-
Phone Technician
Auden Thornton
-
Hannah Lang
Mary Ashleigh Green
-
Daphne Lang
Taglines:
There goes the neighborhood!
Release Date: 9 July 1999
Filming Locations: Houston, Texas, USA
Box Office Details
Budget: $21,500,000
(estimated)
Opening Weekend: £527,427
(UK)
(21 March 1999)
(231 Screens)
Gross: $41,067,311
(Worldwide)
(26 September 1999)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
The car crash during the climactic chase scene was unplanned; the plan was for the car to duck behind the oncoming bus and complete the left turn. When the collision occurred, the car trunk sprung open, revealing the bright blue sandbags that had been placed there to allow certain stunts. The quick cuts following the collision are necessary to avoid showing the sandbags. Subsequent shots including the car had already been filmed, and show a markedly less-damaged car.
Goofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized:
Towards the end when someone says 'Stand-by' into the walkie-talkie, her mouth doesn't match the words she says.
Quotes: Oliver Lang:
[about to view the explosion]
Boom.
User Review
Do You Know Those People Across The Street?
Rating: 8/10
Contrary to what you may think initially, nothing happens by coincidence on
`Arlington Road.' Outstanding performances by Jeff Bridges (As Michael
Faraday) and Tim Robbins (Oliver Lang) highlight this taut thriller about
terrorism in America, a disturbing film instilled with a sense of loss, fear
and paranoia. Director Mark Pellington perhaps does not mine this vein to
the depths, but there is still a silver lining in this movie, which contains
elements of two of Alfred Hitchcock's classics, `The Man Who Knew Too Much,'
and `North By Northwest.' Had this film been made forty years ago, in fact,
Hitchcock would have been at the helm and we would have had James Stewart
instead of Bridges and Richard Widmark in place of Robbins. When Jeff
Bridges stars in a thriller, you can usually bet that the project is going
to be a cut above the average fare of the genre, and this one is no
exception, arguably his best of it's kind since `Jagged Edge.' This is a
riveting film, and the tension builds steadily throughout as we uncover,
along with Faraday, the dark secrets which ultimately lead to an explosive
climax. The excellent supporting cast includes Joan Cusack, Hope Davis and
Robert Gossett. A trip to `Arlington Road' is a jolt to the senses and may
cause you to stop and rethink a few things about your life. At the very
least, you're going to want to finally meet that neighbor who moved in
across the street last year. I rate this one 8/10.
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