Arlington Road [Blu-ray]
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, Hope DavisDirector: Mark Pellington
Studio: Sony Pictures
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Running Time: 117 minutes
DVD Release: August 7th 2007
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DVD Review
A gripping contemporary thriller about the terrible truths that can hide behind everyday appearances, Arlington Road is an intense, edge-of-your-seat journey that reveals just how little we know about the world around us. Widowed when his FBI agent wife is killed by a right-wing group, college professor Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges) becomes obsessed with the culture of these groups, especially when his new neighbors, the all-American Oliver and Cheryl Lang (Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack), start acting suspiciously. With each twist, the mystery deepens and the question looms: is Faraday just consumed by fear and driven by paranoia, or has a lethal conspiracy been born on Arlington Road?
User Reviews
Realistic and Shocking! - Rating: 5/5
This is a movie that I think everyone should watch. We watched it some years ago and several times since. Everytime, it is impactful. I started thinking about this movie recently when reading about more terror propaganda in the UK. I was reminded of an article in the papers that described one of the 7/7 bombers as just a "normal, average guy" who had a regular job and loved soccer, "just like many other young Britons, his neighbors said".
That really hits home when you watch Arlington Road. Everybody should be aware that THEY, too, can be manipulated to "carry the bomb into the building." The references to Ruby Ridge and The OK bombing in the movie reflect the time it was made/released, but it is even more meaningful after 911.
The movie may seem to begin a bit slowly - that was my initial impression - and it was only afterward that I realized that this was a perfect metaphor for how "normal life" can totally mask what is really going on. But don't worry, it soon grabs you by the throat and doesn't let you go until the final, horrifying revelations at the end.
Jeff Bridges plays his part very well - a guy so blinded by emotion that he is putty in the hands of cold-blooded manipulators. Bridges (as the hero) thinks he's got a handle on what's going on, but in fact, this is hubris. One could say the same for most "conspiracy theorists." You only know what "they" want you to know or figure out.
Some people think the plot is too complex, too far-fetched, but I think that's not the case. You don't need much imagination to see how such an elaborate set-up could easily be achieved in anyone's life. There are plenty of movies that talk about that aspect of things. The only thing is, they all make it seem like such dramatic, high adventure, that we forget that it is the mundane, the ordinary, the ho-hum existence, that veils truly evil things.
The psychological slamming is all there at the end and that's exactly it; how it MUST be in real life. Life is so "ordinary, so boring, so tedious, so commonplace, that it lulls us into complacency. And that is undoubtedly what the filmmaker was trying to convey... that sense of ordinariness, mundane life that covers another reality of conspiracy and evil-doing.
For example, only AFTER the end of the movie do you realize that the bleeding kid at the beginning was all part of the set-up, that the terrorist/parents actually used their own child as bait, and even caused a severe injury to the child in order to make that bait more compelling. Was the kid brain-washed or terrorized? Probably. What kind of monsters would do that to a child?
And that makes the final scene even more chilling, where the terrorists stand there in front of the house for sale and wear their "mask of sanity," saying the world is getting too scary...
Yes, the good guys die and the bad guys continue on... but then, isn't that reality?
The Most Important Movie No One Saw - Rating: 4/5
I always try and recommend this movie or at the very least ask people if they've seen it and the answer is, "Arlington what? Never heard of it." It's understandable to a degree; it doesn't come from a powerhouse pedigree but it has quite a bite. In light of the events of the day these days I'm surprised this movie doesn't get much press.
It's an intriguing look at terrorism in a way I've never seen portrayed on film. It's heartbreaking and breathtaking often at the same time. It's finely acted, superbly directed, and completely unpredictable. Not a bad combination! The movie does border on complete unbelievability for a brief time but by the time the credits roll you will be a believer in the message.
This Blu-Ray version is totally capable. There is little grain in dark scenes and the colors remain vivid throughout the movie. Sadly, there are no "extra" extras we didn't already have on the standard edition, but what's here is adequate. While I preferred the standard cover art, that is of little consequence to such a powerful movie.
I'm trying to upgrade the movies from standard to Blu-Ray and HDDVD that really made me think, and I think this is one of them.
