So Much for Keeping Secrets

On the other hand, McCarthy--who gave "Arlington Road" a mixed-to-favorable review before its modestly successful European release--admits that the marketers might have felt a pressing need to be full-tilt aggressive. "To be perfectly honest," McCarthy said, "I think a film like this isn't going to do really well unless it has superstars. [Robbins and Bridges] are fine actors, but they're not going to open a film.

"If you reveal that Robbins really is a terrorist in the trailer, it basically ruins the first half of the picture--because you're not supposed to know early on. The only problem, I guess, is if you don't reveal that--and you don't reveal the movie is about urban terrorism--how much do you have to work with in a trailer?"

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Not surprisingly, director Pellington has profoundly mixed emotions about the ad campaign for "Arlington Road," a campaign that now includes revealing TV spots.

"Ultimately, as a filmmaker," Pellington said in a recent telephone interview, "you want your movie to reach as many people as possible. And the powers that be use the tools and methodology that they think will get the people in seats. There's one theory that says, 'Whatever gets them in the seats is great.' But there's a part of me that says, 'I wish I had control or approval over these things.' I would have done it in a slightly different way.

"Look, I can't disparage people who are working hard and spending money to promote a movie that I made. But you do get into sensitive areas like what is a hint and what is a revelation?"

Preferring to view the glass as half full, Pellington remains grateful for the opportunity to make a thought-provoking film about serious subject matter. In his view, the important questions raised by "Arlington Road" aren't "Who did it?" or "Is he paranoid?" Rather, the movie asks us to consider something far more troubling: "Is anybody safe?"

"Ultimately," Pellington said, "this is not a movie about terrorism or the militia movement. The actual story is about deception. And vulnerability."

Pellington notes that April's massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., "kind of affected the marketing strategy for our film." ("Arlington Road" was bounced from an announced May 14 opening, but, according to Sony, the change had more to with avoiding a face-off with "The Phantom Menace.") Coincidentally, the director viewed his movie again just two days after the tragedy.