Film '99

I just watched the film Arlington Road and thought I'd give it a quick review. I saw it years ago and thought it was really good. On rewatching it, I see that it is actually... not that.

[There might be spoilers here. So if you're planning on watching an 11-year-old film (like I did): be warned]

In my memory, I saw it as greater than the sum of its parts - a tense thriller with an important message. But now I think it's probably less than the sum of its parts.

A weirdly conventional Angelo Badalamenti soundtrack, Tim Robbins hamming it up like a mofo, a weird suburban group of villains, and a villainous plot straight out of a Bond movie.

Jeff Bridges is in it though, and is his usual awesome self. So it's worth a watch.

(It also has that creepy kid who was the 90s US Dennis the Menace, and was in Rushmore. He's creepy.)


The film deals with US domestic terrorism, and coming a couple of years before September 11, is probably now seen as obsolete. Of course, the principles are the same, and interesting questions are asked in the film.

It explores why individuals are blamed for terrorist attacks, and we accept this explanation without looking for the deeper cause.

But whilst it asks interesting questions, it answers them with a crazy conspiracy and a Batman-esque criminal scheme.

The answer should be to do with questions of political and cultural forces. The message should be: domestic terrorism isn't about the horrific acts of individuals, but rather the social conditions that foster that horrific potential.

But Arlington Road's message is: domestic terrorism isn't about the horrific acts of individuals, it's about the horrific acts of a particular shadowy cabal of pantomime bad guys.

It's still a decent film, and pretty tense. But I don't really think it delivers on its promise. I wonder if it is shown often in America, or if its (relatively) grey-area treatment of terrorism might strike people as Liberal propaganda post-9/11. Maybe they can colourise the villains to make them seem of Arab extraction.

Of course, Tim Robbins would be involved in left-wing propaganda, being a prominent member of Hollywood's liberal elite. Although of course I'm on his side, I always find it amusing to see all his films as crass Socialist propaganda.

Watching the film Nothing to Lose (with Martin Lawrence) is much more fun if you view it as filtered through Robbins' Commie sympathies. Through Red-tinted spectacles, if you will.


So. I don't know why I felt the need to write about this film. But it's always good to boost the post count. I suppose it would be better to write about films on which I have a strong opinion. A lesson for the future.

My verdict on Arlington Road: "Yeah... yeah. It was... yeah, it was ok." (out of 5)