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ARLINGTON ROAD
Directed by Mark Pellington
Written by Ehren Kruger
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack,
Hope Davis, Robert Gossett
My advice: Check it out
Rating:  out of
Woo hoo hoo. It's been awhile. This is one of those movies where
you really just never know what's going on. I don't mean this is a bad way, but instead a fun, energetic, heart
pounding good way.
Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges) teaches at George Washington
University. He presents a class on the history of domestic terrorism. These classes run the gamut of
everyday terrorism to the horrors of a bungling government which, in fact, resulted in the death of his wife, an
FBI agent, in a raid gone terribly wrong.
In the two years that have passed since her death he has taken
up with a former student, (Hope Davis) and continues to raise his son as best as a single father can.
All of this changes one afternoon as he pulls onto his street
and encounters a young boy about his son's age staggering down the center of the road with a ravaged hand and severe
burns. It's upon taking this boy to the hospital that he is introduced to the child's parents, Oliver Lang (Tim
Robbins) and his wife Cheryl (Joan Cusack). At first glance, the Langs appear to be the most mundane of neighbors.
In fact, we should all be so lucky, these folks are so nice!
Faraday, as he gets to know his new friends, begins to suspect
something is amiss. As a result, he undertakes a small personal investigation of his own into the life of Oliver
Lang. He learns that Oliver is indeed not who he appears to be.
The beauty of this plot is it's contrived to leave you guessing.
Just when you think he's right, he's wrong. When you're sure you're wrong, you're right. Each character is designed
so flawlessly that you're never really sure who to trust or who to believe. Bridges and Robbins play their parts
masterfully and Cusack, as always, is devine.
I do recommend this if you like a little shaking up. It
pulls it off with a BANG!
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