Arlington Road
Jeff Bridges is the good guy, and Tim Robbins is the bad guy: and make no mistake about it, he really is a bad guy. The men are neighbours, and the story begins with an injured child bringing the two men together for the first time. The scene is comfortable urban America; the action is two families building a relationship. We are some way into the film before the real plot starts to shows itself. I have a problem here, because if I tell you any more of the story, I run the risk of ruining the whole thing for those who go to see it. Suffice it to say that one neighbour begins to suspect the other of planning acts of urban terrorism as per the Oklahoma bomb.
Mr Luke Shepherd
Arlington Road
The opening sequence of this film is the most intense and disturbing I have ever seen. If you are of a sensitive disposition, do not go to see it. It is a brilliant device, because the pain it portrays, devoid of context, meaning and explanation, functions both to engage the audience and provide a paradigm for the whole narrative. This film aims to challenge your response to violence at the deepest level.
