Reservation Road (2007)

Some stories can be extremely compelling and make for truly heart-wrenching drama, but no matter how real the story is or how much we feel for the characters, there are only so many angles and so many ways to tell a story. After a school residual, The Learner family stops to get gas and their 10 year old son goes to release fireflies by the side of the road. At the same time, a man returning from the Red Sox game is more interested in his cell phone than the road, and runs the young boy over. From there on the movie is as you would expect it to be. One side is devastated while the other is in cover up mode. The police investigation, vigilantism, bereavement, and the justice system get involved in what turns out to be little more than a lifetime movie of the week. Joaquin Phoenix is fantastic as the grieving father out seeking revenge, in the kind of performance that really makes you feel for the guy, but aside from that, Reservation Road is just a very predictable film that is out for one thing, your tears. It's a sad story told from every possible angle, covering every possible thing that could happen in a situation like this, and it's definitely preaching about the dangers of distracted driving. If not for the huge cast, this could have easily been a lifetime movie, as the writing was that predictable and amateurish. The bottom line on Reservation Road is that it's a preachy, predictable, tear-jerker, without much substance, probably not worth your time unless you like that kind of thing.

This is a superbly acted movie, very intuitive, sad, and definitely worth watching. Jennifer Connelly is outstanding, really all three leads are tremendous. A relatable very well done film. The miss of the police force when Ruffalo's character goes in hooks the viewer and creates believable tension. Ending is realistic and satisfying. Touches on multiple aspects of the situation and base for the story. The viewer is not left with holes to figure out on their own. The actors convey the intensity of the situation. Moody, intense without going overboard. A human story with tragedy that teaches multiple lessons. Get ready to be impressed!

Directed by Terry George, "Reservation Road" is an intermittently interesting drama staring Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Connelly as a husband and wife who lose their son during a hit-and-run accident. Mark Ruffalo plays the driver of the car responsible for the death.Though unbelievably heavy-handed in a number of sections, "Reservation Road" is lifted by another excellent, wounded-man performance by Mark Ruffalo. Elle Fanning and Joaquin Phoenix do memorable work as well, though Phoenox's character becomes incredulously written as the film progresses. Connelly is mostly terrible in another underwritten female role. The film, a sorrowful tragedy filmed in melancholic blacks and harsh, judgemental whites, plays well when its operating as a morality tale. Less successful are its thriller elements.7.9/10 – See "Exotica" and "The Yellow Handkerchief". Worth one viewing.

Based on the novel by John Burnham Schwartz, "Reservation Road" is an extraordinarily compelling and beautifully acted drama that looks at a single tragic event – the hit-and-run death of a ten-year-old boy – from dueling perspectives. One of those perspectives is of course that of the grieving family – the father, Ethan, the mother, Grace, and the little sister, Emma - as they attempt to come to terms with the single most unimaginable trial a family can face. But the movie also looks at how the incident affects the man who ran over the boy, then fled in panic from the scene. Dwight is a divorced lawyer with a young son of his own, and his life in this rural corner of Connecticut is torn asunder every bit as much as it is for the family of the dead boy.As Ethan comes to believe that the culprit will never be caught – and that the loophole-laden legal system will allow him to weasel out of any meaningful punishment even if he is – the emotionally decimated father decides to take matters into his own hands, much to the consternation of his wife, who would prefer he spend his time trying to heal the family and work to make it whole again.Despite the premise, "Reservation Road" is no cheap exploitative revenge-fantasy but rather a profoundly moving and insightful look into the various ways in which human beings cope with tragedy. The parents' reactions to their son's death and to the utterly random, inexplicable cosmic injustice of it all could not be more palpable and real. In the same way, the soul-crushing guilt with which Dwight is grappling – while having to put on a happy face for the world – makes us empathize with him as well, despite the fact that we certainly don't condone his actions on an ethical or intellectual level. The beauty of the Terry George screenplay is that it refuses to judge any of its characters. There are no heroes or villains here, just deeply flawed individuals doing things - out of fear, out of confusion, out of an instinct for self-preservation or an understandable craving for eye-for-an-eye justice - that they would never even dream of doing under ordinary circumstances. But when the Fates suddenly deal one a blow this unforeseen and this devastating - showing us all just how vulnerable we truly are to having our lives forever shattered in the blink of an eye - all bets are off, and it often takes a Herculean act of the will to lead one back to that instinctive moral center that existed before the tragedy. This is what both Ethan and Dwight are ultimately forced to learn from the experience.The plotting is taut (if a bit overly reliant on coincidence at times) and the direction by George sensitive and focused. And Ruffalo and Phoenix deliver performances of such emotional intensity and lacerating truthfulness that I can't believe they weren't officially awarded for their efforts.But watching them and the film they're in is reward enough for the viewer.