Arlington Road (Blu-ray)

“FEAR THY NEIGHBOR...” This was one of those films that I remember very clearly watching several times as a kid, probably on cable, but prior to revisiting it for the first time in almost two decades, had zero recollection of. I had some hazy memories of a decent thriller with an unexpected ending. Interestingly enough, that’s pretty much my exact takeaway all these years later 😂 This is definitely a bit of a forgotten gem, anchored by the dual lead performances of Tim Robbins and Jeff Bridges, literally two of my favorite offbeat, underrated actors. Robbins in particular was eerie and unnerving throughout the proceedings, and while the pacing of the film drags a little, at no point was a distracted or bored. This was mostly due to the slow build, slow escalating tension between the leads, who played off of one another with immaculate chemistry. And the ending... whew, it’s a doozy. I was genuinely surprised by how visceral I felt when the credits rolled. While certainly not a masterpiece, I do think this is a bit of an under appreciated, effective little diversion, one I’ll definitely revisit every few years going forward. Anyone else remember this one?