Reservation Road (2007)

Anger, Revenge and Courage...

A small Connecticut town, two suburban families, one tragedy...Lives ripped apart in the subsequent weeks.

We follow the paths of two fathers - one stricken by grief at the hit-and-run death of his son, and the other, the perpetrator - as they attempt to deal with the tragic events of one split second in time...When one man loses his son, and when the other man makes a hasty decision to drive away.

Mark Ruffalo's performance is pitch perfect as the hit-and-run driver, tormented by fear and guilt - fear of losing his son, whose mother (Mira Sorvino) has primary custody, and who stands ready at any moment to deny contact with his son - and guilt at what he, an attorney, has done. Tortured and tormented...We almost empathize with his plight.

And then on the other hand, Joaquin Phoenix, as the grieving father, and Jennifer Connelly, as the grief-stricken mother, convince us with their overwhelming emotions and the ever-increasing isolation from one another, that nothing will ever make this right until the perpetrator is caught.

The police seem to be pushing the case onto a back burner as no tangible clues come to light.

So the couple seeks legal representation - someone to help push the police to solve the case. And whose firm do they choose to represent them? None other than the one for which the perpetrator works!

We see the suspenseful, emotional and completely engrossing moments unfold as the paths converge - fathers on parallel paths - until resolution comes with a surprising twist.

Reservation Road is a haunting portrayal of tragic events and their aftermath.

Laurel-Rain Snow
Author of:
An Accidental Life, etc.
December 29, 2008

A sadly mishandled, missed opportunity...

Having read John Burnham Schwartz's novel (I gave the novel 5 stars in my review) and being huge fans of Phoenix and Ruffalo (I tend to enjoy Connelly as well) I was really excited about this movie. In fact, generally at the beginning of every year I pick a film that I'm most excited about, and I rally behind it until Oscar comes. Some years I go well, others I do not. Last year I stood firmly behind `Reservation Road', utterly convinced that it was going to be the best movie of the year.

I had an off year.

There are some significant changes from the novel here, while the initial story does stay the same, but it is not the changes but the delivery that really ruins the film for me. Director Terry George doesn't know how to develop this film properly, at all.

Where was Todd Field when you needed him?

Ethan Learner is a college professor who loves his wife and his two children very much. Dwight Arno is a divorced lawyer trying desperately to connect with his son despite his ex-wife's opposition. One fateful evening Dwight makes a fatal mistake and kills Ethan's young son. Instead of owning up to it he panics and drives off, covering over the evidence and continuing as if nothing happened. Ethan is ravaged with anger as he sets out to find the person responsible for his son's death, causing strains in his marriage. Dwight is racked with guilt but he cannot seem to come to terms with what needs to be done. Things are only made worse when Ethan hires Dwight as his lawyer and urges him to help track down the killer.

I'm telling you, the novel is a marvelous character study and truly gets under the skin of Ethan, Grace (his wife) and Dwight beautifully.

The problem with `Reservation Road' is that it doesn't take the time to fully flesh out these characters. It feels rather hurried to me. Mark Ruffalo does all he can to convey his characters guilt but it never feels as genuine as it should. The film also feels very uninterested in Grace, which is sad since it was her character that seemed to devour the novel. She is obviously not the star of the show (this is more about the way that men react to these situations) but in the novel it was her sections that brought a new light to the proceedings. Here she is nothing more than window dressing. Phoenix, who I consider one of our finer actors, has never been worse. I thought that his performance was weak and amateurish. I don't think he fully understood the character. He's said that he related more to Dwight, and so maybe he should have swapped roles with Ruffalo.

I was very disappointed in the way the film handled Ethan and Grace's relationship. Every time they shared the screen they were having the same conversation, which bogged the film down and made it feel redundant. Phoenix's groveling never felt genuine, it always felt forced and uncomfortable. Connelly tried to save her scenes, but Phoenix was such a bore that I found my interest waning considerably. I understand that this is a tragic situation, and really, there is no getting over that, but this is a movie and movie's need to be able to portray things in an engaging manor. Repeating the same sequence of events, no matter how realistic it may be, is not engaging.

I will say that the ending was a plus for me, the fact that they kept the novel's ending and the final frame is quite haunting, but it is one of the films sole highlights.

The film is not bad, it just isn't good either. It's right there in the middle. It's average at best, which is sad because it could have, and should have been phenomenal. Ruffalo is decent, to a degree and Connelly is actually very effective in the few scenes where she is allowed to shine. I just think that Terry George botched this one big time, taking what could have been a very poignant and emotional look at family and giving it more of a `made for television' feel, muddling it down with an air of stiffness and pulling away from it's power by watering down the emotion.

I'd give it a C-, maybe a C.

Go watch `In the Bedroom'. Now that is how you do a tense family drama. December 12, 2008

Grade A Drama

"People keep saying you need to find closure. But there is no closure; there's only acceptance and resignation."

These are the rambling thoughts of a grieving parent and his struggle to live through the untimely death of his child in the brilliant and moving adaptation of "Reservation Road", a 1998 novel by John Burnham Schwartz. The film centralizes on four primary characters and the tragedy that binds them, starring Academy Award winning actresses Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) and Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite), Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac) and Academy Award nominated actor Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator).

The story begins simply enough: Ethan (Phoenix) and Grace Learner (Connelly) are driving their children home after a music recital when they make a brief stop at a service station. When their son Josh exits the car to let a jar full of fireflies loose, he becomes a victim of a hit-and-run accident, the impact killing him instantly. Dwight Arno (Ruffalo), a divorced attorney and the hit-and-run driver, is rushing his son Jake home to his erratic ex-wife Ruth (Sorvino), his cell phone the lapse in concentration that proves fatal. His fear and guilt propel him to leave the scene of the accident, his identity lost on any onlookers as Ethan hovers over Josh, crying out in agony.

Thoroughly distraught over their loss, the Learners want nothing more than the apprehension of the person responsible for Josh's death. Dissatisfied with the progress of local law enforcement, Ethan does his own detective work and decides to seek legal counsel and coincidentally becomes Dwight's client. When the two of them meet face-to-face, it becomes harder for Dwight to mask his guilty conscience as well as his crime and the Learners' marriage begins to crack under pressure from Grace's self-blame and Ethan's obsession with finding the perpetrator. All the combined anger, grief and guilt of each of the respective parties spur a climactic moment in which Ethan does what every grieving parent only wishes they could.

"Reservation Road" has a quiet intensity, replete with superb performances from all of its lead actors. I have been enthralled with Phoenix's phenomenal acting abilities ever since I saw him in "Gladiator" - his performance as Ethan Learner is every bit as intense and the anguish he depicts is heartbreaking and riveting. Connelly is an expert at emoting, Grace's pain so clearly expressed through her body, her face and her hypnotizing green eyes, perpetually saturated by tears. Her performance in "House of Sand and Fog" closely compares to this - Connelly is truly adept at playing tortured souls. Ruffalo is also excellent but I do think his abilities are trumped time and again by Phoenix; their scene together in the film's pivotal moment is sensational. Sorvino pops in and out but still manages to make a grand impression.

Author Schwartz and screenwriter/director Terry George collaborated on the screenplay for the film and the result is a deeply involved character study that allows its audience a peek at the raw wounds of sorrow beneath the bandage of adversity.

Bottom line: One of the better dramas out there, "Reservation Road" will resonate long after you've watched it, its story and performances wrenchingly exquisite.
October 22, 2008

Reservation Road

Reservation Road

This DVD is defective. It's counter is off......it starts at the end of the movie and it takes forever to rewind to get to the beginning of the movie......if you go even a second to far it goes back to the end. I have never had this happen so I didn't get a refund as I had thrown out the receipt and package. I then went to Blockbuster and bought this movie and the exact same thing happened. Defective. Once you do get it to the start the movie itself is excellent a 4 out of 5 stars.....but your much better off renting this one than buying it. October 21, 2008

I was reviled by this manipulative formulaic tragedy cliche! Groan

I couldn't wait for this film to end but let out a cry of injustice for myself at the upbrupt ending which left the viewer ( me, my partner decided to nap instead of finishing this dreadful film )intentionally without resolve. Never having read the book I knew from the get-go this was adapted from a novel as the vibe of storybook New England setting is the usual set up before the "tragedy" Unfortunately I dont think this mirrors any scenarion from real life. If it does then I can't blame Mark Ruffalo for running from the scene of the "crime" - which isn't a crime , its an accident, unless of course you leave the scene which he does. He's a lawyer btw, I guess he knows what the law is permiited to do to perpetrators of "accidents", especially a man , a loser who is already disenfranshised by society because he's a divorced dad hanging on to dignity by his fingernails. The reaction of the victims family - specifically the dad, is not realistic- SPOILER - ok, so the kid with the fireflies is playing on the side of a busy road at night and happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time - and in a flash bingo , he's gone, dead in a heap. Since the driver panicked and didn't "own up", he's now being pursued as "that murderer is still out there" Parents of children taken by senseless carelessness have a right to feel rage, but to the point of buying a gun and attemting vigilante justice?, Kidnapping and attempted murder? I dont think so. If this EVER happened in real life you'd be reading it all over the newspapers and Mark Ruffalos character would never see prison time. the whole tone of this movie was unrealistic, cliche and self righteous.The acting and dialogue I have no problem with. When are viewers going to stop eating up this stuff being served to them as entertainment?- surely this is a film that "makes one think", but it makes me think- why would anyone think this story has value? Even the redemtion aspect is a bit cloudy and unrefined. Save your time and money, do yourself a favor and trust me . October 15, 2008

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