Arlington Road
Screen Gems | Release Date: July 9, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Arlington Road belongs to that splendid Hollywood tradition of dealing with serious, timely issues in the form of a suspense thriller. Read full review
80
VarietyTodd McCarthy
An intelligent, insidiously plotted Hitchcockian thriller directed in souped-up, modern expressionistic style. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyJohn Patterson
Despite its flaws, Arlington Road romps home as an absorbing, unpredictable thriller. Read full review
80
NewsweekAndrea C. Basora
Arlington Road does a nice job of keeping things speculative enough to remain interesting. Read full review
80
Film.comPeter Brunette
It plays lots of cool mind games with the audience -- if in an occasionally incoherent way -- and ends up providing a surprising amount of fun. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
While this film's conception of a terrorist threat is apparent early on, its strength lies in a string of ingenious little surprises. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
Although it takes something of a slog to get there, this thriller finally comes through where it counts. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
Deceptively keen as both a paranoid political thriller and a caveat against the trustworthiness of your friends and neighbors. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Slippery issues about trust, parental responsibility, and the inalienable American right to personal and political freedom are ceded to Hollywood's inalienable right to stage high-pitched chase scenes and a shocking big finish. Read full review
70
Washington PostRita Kempley
Though a thematically ambitious and deftly acted thriller, the film is also shockingly coldblooded and not a little reactionary. Read full review
70
Film.comTom Keogh
If you don't ponder too much the script's muddled, self-serving influences, Arlington Road succeeds at discomforting a viewer and making one apt to look over one's shoulder for a day or two. Read full review
70
Film.comJohn Hartl
Before it finally twists itself into a pretzel in the third act, this paranoid thriller creates a scary mood and allows its leading actors to go all the way with it. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
A movie where style and craft are fatally confused with substance, and where almost no effort is made to make the characters seem like believable people. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
If the bad guys in the real world were all this obvious, life would be a whole lot easier. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
What will divide viewers is the plot; either the ending makes no sense or it forces you to rethink everything that went before. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
Amidst the rubble of political rhetoric that underlies Arlington Road, one thing is clear: The enemy is us. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A classy but over-contrived topical thriller about bomb plots and anti-government groups. Read full review
60
Village VoiceDennis Lim
The mode is hysteric-Hitchcockian, the result mostly devoid of suspense. Read full review
60
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Although the film starts out with well-mounted menace, Arlington Road becomes increasingly overwrought and predictable. Read full review
60
New Times (L.A.)Hal Hinson
Even before the film has worked up a head of steam, it has started to pile up the improbabilities, giving us reason to question its credibility. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
A clumsy and incompetent thriller for nine-tenths of its length, but it has an ending so clever and that goes so wildly against expectations it almost exonerates the film. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
A successful thriller makes you forget such impossibilities, but here they poison every scene. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
The idiosyncratic instrumentation and melodies in the score by Angelo Badalamenti ("Blue Velvet") and a masterful opening scene are wasted on this pathetic thriller. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The screenplay stretches the viewer's credulity far beyond the breaking point, asking us to accept dozens of absurd contrivances and coincidences. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A conspiracy thriller that begins well and makes good points, but it flies off the rails in the last 30 minutes. Read full review
10
Film ThreatRon Wells
This masterpiece started out at around three stars, but after the credits, it just got sillier and more lurid. Read full review
More From This Movie

65 Critic Reviews

8.1 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL