Tim Robbins and Jeff Bridges address homegrown terrorism and the fiber of manipulation as a pair of wary, suspicious suburban neighbors. Robbins is terrific as the shady new guy who keeps his emotions close to the vest, pairing a wicked, piercing gaze with an ambiguous, noncommittal temperament. Bridges, the viewer's perspective and proposed voice of reason, is much less fascinating; a vanilla conspiracy theorist with a short fuse, it's tough to find sympathy for his obsessive investigations of the new acquaintance, even when they start bearing some fruit.

The film's musings on terrorism in a pre-9/11 America are interesting food for thought, particularly in that they seem to be challenging many of the knee-jerk reactions that eventually plague the union. Ultimately, a bold, memorable finale somewhat redeems the plot, which is quite predictable up to that point.