Reservation Road

A full six months after Reservation Road was supposed to release in theaters (it did, only in a very quiet handful), the film is finally, and again, very quietly put out on DVD. I had been looking forward to this film for some time and had been shocked by it's ill-treatment from Focus Features. After receiving it from Netflix and viewing it, I went out the very next day to purchase it. Where I was expecting a slow, wrenching exploration of grief and loss, this film actually surprised me with an untold amount of suspense and thrills. It certainly is not a "thriller" perhaps, but where the story goes and how these characters react leaves you on edge in several instances where you're not only unsure of what they will do next, but you're not sure what you would do next.

I had read a lot about this movie before seeing it, so there were some reveals that I already knew about from my own curiosity as well as some misguided choices in what is shown in the trailer. I would have liked to see it fresh, so I will give plot points sparingly. Ethan and Grace Lerner (Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Connelly, respectively) are a well-to-do couple living in an affluent Connecticut town who lose a child in a hit and run accident. Dwight Arno (Mark Ruffalo) is speeding home to deliver his young son to his ex-wife (Mira Sorvino) and leaves the scene. The unfolding story effectively explores how the Lerner family struggles to cope with an unimaginable loss to an unknown perpetrator, and how Dwight wrestles with his fragile conscience while trying to hide his crime from the authorities. I think it works better to not know how Ethan and Dwight meet and proceed to dance around this event, but when they do, is when the real enjoyment of this film begins.

Sorvino does a fine job, and Connelly, in a larger and more difficult role, does a very good job, but this film belongs to the male leads. Ruffalo is great playing a seemingly decent man who commits a heinous crime he desperately tries to hide. This is Ruffalo's best work to date and if this film had been appropriately marketed and acknowledged, it would have been a breakout for him.

As our main lead, Phoenix is just wonderful. Ethan is a devoted husband and father whose world suddenly ceases to make sense following this tragedy and seeing him pull away from his family as he gets lost in his depths of grief and fanatical in his quest to find the killer gives Phoenix room to further display his remarkable range. An actor who is blessed with naturalness and unbridled by affectations and shortcut tendencies, his portrayal of a man eaten away by unspeakable sorrow and incalculable rage is harrowing. There is a confrontation scene late in the film when Ethan is so incensed he's physically shaking, his words come out as a jumbled growl, and it's startling to witness. Seeing Phoenix actually show that level of anger makes you wonder how or what he did to get to this place. That I can't know, but I do know that it's terrifying to see this man come undone from the inside out.

Reservation Road is sad, but it doesn't wallow in a way that feels exploitive or cheap. It's a dual journey into one man's struggle to deal with a tragedy that feels beyond him, and the cowardice and humanity of a hunted man dogged by his own shaken ethics. This is a provocative, moving story that really deserves to be seen.

A movie that deals with secrets & loss. A lot of grieving scenes could be pretty rough at times. The 2 main actors were very good throughout. Sad at times but worth a watch!

The issues dealt with in this movie are real, and I can see many people who will be able to draw from their own experiences when watching this film. You may wonder sometimes if an accident happens, how long can you hold a person accountable for? Jennifer Connelly is again a mesmerizing presence on the silver screen. I watched tonight's screening of Reservation Road in Sudbury at our Cinefest festival expecting it to tug an emotional chord. I have to say, it was touching to see all the parents in the audience shedding a tear when the credits rolled. Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo made a somewhat formulaic script feel fresh and real.

I don't have children and am therefore not in a position to ever lose one at a young age. This film, however, has brought me about as close to the living hell of what that awful experience would be like as a person can be without the actual first hand experience of living it. This is an excellent film; written well, filmed well, directed well, and with actors as good as you'll ever see in anything. And it will never get the respect it deserves because it eschews the "Hollywood" proforma cadence of either a tiding happy ending or complete descent into carnal madness. Instead, it goes to where things are real and much more difficult to take in.

The main story revolves around two families connected by the same tragedy. Specifically, two fathers played by Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo. They are quite literally unbelievable; two great actors at their greatest. Along with Jennifer Connelly, these three take you to a shattered place that is hard to look at and you never want to go to for yourself. It is a dark place where there are no winners and seemingly no hope. It is a place that you can only hope to survive. And if you are a survivor, you will never be the same or as good as you were before. Your marriage will not be the one you had before. Your relationship with your children will never be the same. All that being said, this is not a hopeless story. It is just a difficult one to watch because anyone can identify with it at a human level.

More than the unfolding of this story there is an unsettling tightening of the narrative as this plot develops. Unexpected cross currents in the lives of its antagonists are revealed bringing this story of grief and loss to a boiling point. The victim's father and the perpetrator, unbelievably, have overlaps in their everyday lives; separate and apart from the one that will link them together forever. Their climactic encounter will leave you shaken.

I knew nothing about this film when I watched it a couple of years ago. Literally, nothing. I watched it for two reasons; Mark Ruffalo and Joaquin Phoenix. I was expecting a lot but I got so much more. I tend to go into a lot of detail when writing about a film as good as this one. The 1000 word limit that IMDb allows would never be enough to cover the multi amazing facets of this work. And doing so would require going more into the plot than I think would be useful for, or do justice to, this sorrowful gem. Watch it for yourself. It needs no explanation from me or anyone else. It speaks quite well for itself.

This film is about a grieving family dealing with the loss of their son after a hit and run accident.

The plot is very strong, It shows the driver's guilt and shame, the unrelenting pursuit of the father trying to find the driver, and a grieving mother who wants to move on. The powerful performances are remarkably touching, especially of Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Connelly. The added twist in the complicated relationship between Dwight and Ethan is engagingly presented, and adds more melancholy and tension to the whole film.

"Reservation Road" is a surprising gem. It is almost scary that a split second decision can have such profound impact on oneself and others. be prepared to be touched and saddened by "Reservation Road".