Search results
Arlington Road is a 1999 drama film [1] directed by Mark Pellington and starring Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, and Hope Davis. The film tells the story of a widowed George Washington University professor who suspects his new neighbors are involved in terrorism and becomes obsessed with foiling their terrorist plot.
Mar 3, 2023 · The “Arlington Road” raid bears strong resemblance to the FBI’s action against Randy Weaver, a racist living in rural Idaho who illegally modified firearms for neo-Nazi leaders. When the FBI attempted to arrest Weaver, the mission transformed into a nightmare.
- David Masciotra
- Overview
- Plot
- Cast
- Reception
- Home media
- Television adaptation
- References
is a 1999 drama film directed by Mark Pellington and starring Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, and Hope Davis. The film tells the story of a widowed George Washington University professor who suspects his new neighbors are involved in terrorism and becomes obsessed with foiling their terrorist plot. The film was heavily inspired by the paranoid culture of the 1990s concerning the right-wing militia movement, Ruby Ridge, the Waco siege and Oklahoma City Bombing.
Ehren Kruger wrote the script, which won the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' (AMPAS) Nicholl Fellowship in 1996. The film was to have been originally released by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, but the film's United States distribution rights were sold to Sony Pictures Entertainment for $6 million. The eventual release was the second title for Screen Gems (and its first wide theatrical release) while PolyGram (now part of Universal Studios) handled foreign rights.
Michael Faraday is a history professor at George Washington University specializing in terrorism. His FBI agent wife Leah died in the line of duty in a Ruby Ridge-style standoff, and Michael now lives with his 9-year-old son Grant in Reston, Virginia. He is still friends with Leah's partner Whit Carver, and is dating his former graduate student Brooke.
Upon finding a severely injured boy named Brady stumbling in his neighborhood, Michael rushes him to the hospital, where the wounds are determined to be caused by fireworks. Michael meets Brady's parents, structural engineer Oliver Lang and housewife Cheryl, discovering they are his neighbors. They become friends, and their sons join the Discoverers, a Boy Scouts-style group.
In casual conversation, Oliver expresses his sympathy for Leah's death by displaying potentially violent anti-government beliefs. This, and the cause of Brady's injuries, arouses suspicion in Michael. He also finds blueprints in Oliver's possession that are not for his purported building project, and receives misdirected mail suggesting Oliver lied about his college years. Brooke and Whit dismiss his concerns as paranoia.
Michael takes his class on a field trip to the site where Leah was killed, and excoriates the FBI for igniting the standoff after failing to probe the besieged family. His students appear uneasy.
Michael reluctantly lets Grant go to a Discoverers camp with Brady. His research reveals that Oliver was born William Fenimore and tried to blow up a Kansas post office at age 16. Oliver discovers Michael's interest and confronts him, stating that his immature act in revenge for the government's role in his father's suicide cost him imprisonment and a new identity to hide his past from his children, which he regrets.
Michael appears to let the matter drop. However, Brooke later spots Oliver swapping cars and exchanging metal boxes with strangers. From a payphone, she leaves Michael a message lending validity to his suspicions, but is discovered by Cheryl.
•Jeff Bridges as Michael Faraday
•Tim Robbins as Oliver Lang / William Fenimore
•Joan Cusack as Cheryl Lang / Fenimore
•Hope Davis as Brooke Wolfe
•Robert Gossett as FBI Agent Whit Carver
•Spencer Treat Clark as Grant Faraday
Box office
Sony paid $6 million to acquire the film's United States distribution rights. It opened at #6 in its opening weekend with $7,515,145 behind American Pie, Wild Wild West's second, Big Daddy's third, and Tarzan and The General's Daughter's fourth weekends. The film eventually grossed $24,756,177 in the United States theatrically. The film made a worldwide gross of $41 million on a budget of $31 million.
Critical response
The film holds a 63% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 92 reviews. with the site's consensus stating; "A suspenseful thriller led by strong cast performances built around a somewhat implausible story." and a 2/4 rating by Roger Ebert, who wrote of the film:
The film was initially released on VHS and DVD October 26, 1999 by Columbia TriStar Home Video. A Blu-ray of the film was later released on August 7, 2007 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
In April 2021, it was announced a television series adaptation based on the film was in development at Paramount+. The project is to be a co-production between CBS Studios and Village Roadshow Television with Pellington and Seth Fisher serving as executive producers.
1.Arlington Road (1999). AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
2.Arlington Road (1999) - Financial Information. The Numbers.
3.Arlington Road (1998). BBFC.
4.ARLINGTON ROAD: THE CONSPIRACY THRILLER THAT FORESAW THE SPREAD OF FAR-RIGHT EXTREMISM IN AMERICA. Literary Hub (3 March 2023).
5.Archives (15 September 1999).
6.Weekend Box Office Results for July 9-11, 1999 - Box Office Mojo
Jul 9, 1999 · Overview. Threats from sinister foreign nationals aren't the only thing to fear. Bedraggled college professor Michael Faraday has been vexed (and increasingly paranoid) since his wife's accidental death in a botched FBI operation.
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.
Jul 9, 1999 · 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.
People also ask
What is the plot of the movie Arlington Road?
Is 'Arlington Road' a good movie?
What is the origin and meaning of Arlington Way?
Is Arlington Road a thriller?
Arlington Road is a 1999 American drama mystery thriller film, which tells the story of a widowed George Washington University professor who suspects his new neighbors are involved in terrorism and becomes obsessed with foiling their terrorist plot. The film stars Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, and Hope Davis and is directed by Mark ...
