Arlington Road
Arlington Road | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Mark Pellington |
Written by | Ehren Kruger |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Bobby Bukowski |
Edited by | Conrad Buff |
Music by | Angelo Badalamenti |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Screen Gems (United States)[1] PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (International)[3] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 119 minutes[1] |
Countries | |
Language | English |
Budget | $31 million |
Box office | $41.1 million |
Arlington Road is a 1999
Plot
Michael Faraday is a history professor at
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 youth group.
While talking to Michael about Leah's death, Oliver launches into an anti-government tirade. This, and the cause of Brady's injuries, makes Michael suspicious. 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 by failing to assess whether the besieged Weaver family were armed. 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.
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 Cheryl catches and murders her.
Michael learns of Brooke's death, presented as a car accident, on the news. After discovering that messages had been erased from his answering machine, Michael asks Whit to check FBI records about Oliver and recent calls to his home. He also visits the father of the late Dean Scobee, accused of blowing up a federal building 14 months earlier in St. Louis, from where the Langs had moved. The elder Scobee is certain Dean was innocent given the numerous infant victims. Michael sees Dean in a Discoverers group photo with Brady, and frantically rushes to retrieve Grant from the camp. Troop leaders tell him that Grant was taken home with Brady, and Michael storms into the Langs' home; Oliver confirms that his group killed Brooke, refuses to reveal Grant's whereabouts, and threatens Grant's life should Michael speak to law enforcement.
Whit tells Michael that the FBI discovered nothing suspicious surrounding Oliver/William, and that Michael's missing message came from a payphone. Michael drives to the source of Brooke's call, from where he follows a suspicious delivery vehicle and watches some of Oliver's acquaintances loading metal boxes into it.
Michael follows the van and is shocked to see Grant at the window. Oliver intercepts Michael's car and beats him, promising to kill Grant and expounding his group's mission and their current target: the J. Edgar Hoover Building. Michael overpowers Oliver and illegally drives into the FBI headquarters garage pursuing a van that turns out to be empty. When Whit tells him that he is the only unauthorized person there, Michael rushes back to his own car, discovering a bomb in the trunk seconds before it detonates. The blast partially collapses the FBI headquarters, as Oliver watches from a distance.
A news montage, portraying Michael as a
Cast
- 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
- Mason Gamble as Brady Lang/Fenimore
- Stanley Anderson as Dr. Archer Scobee
- Laura Poe as FBI Agent Leah Faraday
Reception
Box office
Sony paid $6 million to acquire the film's United States distribution rights.[5] 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.[6] The film eventually grossed $24,756,177 in the United States theatrically.[7]
The film made a worldwide gross of $41 million on a budget of $31 million.[7]
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."[8] Roger Ebert, who gave the film 2 out of 4 stars,[9] wrote of the film:
Arlington Road is a thriller that contains ideas. Any movie with ideas is likely to attract audiences who have ideas of their own, but to think for a second about the logic of this plot is fatal.[9]
Home media
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.
Television adaptation
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.[10]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Arlington Road (1999)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Arlington Road (1999) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ "Arlington Road (1998)". BBFC. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
- ^ a b Masciotra, David (March 3, 2023). "Arlington Road: The Conspiracy Thriller That Foresaw the Spread of Far-Right Extremism in America". CrimeReads. Literary Hub. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ a b Natale, Richard (September 15, 1999). "Some Hits and Flops From the Summer Movie Harvest". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Domestic 1999 Weekend 28". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ a b "Arlington Road". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ "Arlington Road". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
- ^ a b Ebert, Roger (July 9, 1999). "Arlington Road". Chicago Sun-Times – via RogerEbert.com.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 13, 2021). "'Arlington Road' TV Series Based On Movie In Works At Paramount+ From Mark Pellington & Seth Fisher". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
External links
- Arlington Road at IMDb
- Arlington Road at Box Office Mojo
- Arlington Road at Rotten Tomatoes