It is my firm belief that Joan Cusack is the most underrated actress in Hollywood right now. She has played many different characters in her career and all of them have some strange quirk that is just plain fun to watch her develop on screen. In her latest role in the extremely entertaining film, Arlington Road, she grabs a hold of you in her small time on the screen and throttles you with subtlety. You wonder is she just sickeningly sweet and stupid or is she extremely smart and in on the entire conspiracy. You never found out for sure, but you get the feeling that she knows everything. She's that damn creepy in this film. Her sweet exterior is just fake enough at times to make chills run up your spine as you try and figure out if she is for real or if she would just stab you in the gut with no conscience after thought. She's that good. (You HAVE to see her turn as a psycho nanny in Addams Family Values).
Oh, the movie? It was good! Intelligently written with an ending that is not typically Hollywood AND it makes sense. The ending brings the whole movie into focus and you can actually look back and see all that was done to Jeff Bridges' character to make the ending a satisfying surprise. Both Bridges and Tim Robbins do well in this modern film noir directed with out-of-control abandon by Mark Pellington. Robbins' character is a bit flat and one dimensional at times since he lacks Cusack's flair for mental ticks, but he gets the point across, and Bridges seemed sometimes to be too caught up in the character's paranoia, but the story carries them through.
The lead up to the ending is a bit hokey unfortunately as the "master plan" depends on Bridges staying within a set mind frame and any little deviation from that would spoil everything, but it's forgivable since the trip there was so, well, trippy. The film sinks its teeth into the paranoia that is today's society and starts thrashing. Great cinematography and mood lighting keep you feeling as helpless as Bridges and it's good to see Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet) back doing what he does best: off kilter music score to help set the mood for a creepy, yet entertaining film.
Oh, the movie? It was good! Intelligently written with an ending that is not typically Hollywood AND it makes sense. The ending brings the whole movie into focus and you can actually look back and see all that was done to Jeff Bridges' character to make the ending a satisfying surprise. Both Bridges and Tim Robbins do well in this modern film noir directed with out-of-control abandon by Mark Pellington. Robbins' character is a bit flat and one dimensional at times since he lacks Cusack's flair for mental ticks, but he gets the point across, and Bridges seemed sometimes to be too caught up in the character's paranoia, but the story carries them through.
The lead up to the ending is a bit hokey unfortunately as the "master plan" depends on Bridges staying within a set mind frame and any little deviation from that would spoil everything, but it's forgivable since the trip there was so, well, trippy. The film sinks its teeth into the paranoia that is today's society and starts thrashing. Great cinematography and mood lighting keep you feeling as helpless as Bridges and it's good to see Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet) back doing what he does best: off kilter music score to help set the mood for a creepy, yet entertaining film.