Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘Reservation Road’?

Reservation Road (2007)

tomatometer

35

Average Rating: 5.1/10
Reviews Counted: 111
Fresh: 39 | Rotten: 72

While the performances are fine, Reservation Road quickly adopts an excessively maudlin tone along with highly improbable plot turns.

25

Average Rating: 4.8/10
Critic Reviews: 32
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 24

While the performances are fine, Reservation Road quickly adopts an excessively maudlin tone along with highly improbable plot turns.

audience

54

liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 13,729

My Rating

Movie Info

The lingering weight of tragedy threatens to pull two men under following a harrowing hit-and-run accident in a quiet revenge drama directed by Terry George and starting Mark Ruffalo and Joaquin Phoenix. When his son is killed in an unsolved hit-and-run accident, a grieving father (Phoenix) spends his waking hours seeking vengeance against the man (Ruffalo) who perpetrated the deadly crime. It was a warm September evening when college professor Ethan Learner (Phoenix), his wife, Grace (Jennifer

R, 1 hr. 43 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Drama

John Burnham Schwartz, Terry George

Apr 8, 2008

Focus Features

Cast

All Critics (115) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (73) | DVD (7)

It starts with devastation and closes, after a few reels of narrative dithering, with a climax of hairpin emotional turns and indisputable power.

October 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | Comment
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A film of distinguished performances that rise above a coincidence-riddled and perfunctory screenplay -- without redeeming it.

October 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | Comment
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Reservation Road is a car wreck of a movie about an auto accident. It's designed as a psychological suspense film, but every character development and plot twist can be seen far in advance. It's a mystery with no guessing.

October 25, 2007 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Comment
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

An exercise in frustration and wasted opportunities.

October 25, 2007 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | Comment
Arizona Republic
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This is kind of a terrible movie with some really talented people.

October 22, 2007 Comment
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The major failure here is fear of the very emotions the movie purports to be about.

October 20, 2007 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

What did we do to deserve these grief-counselor filmmakers? They seem to think they can express something that we cannot, and they're so persistent. It's enough to make us want to run away from home.

April 28, 2011 Full Review Source: East Bay Express | Comment
East Bay Express

Ultimately devolves into a Crime and Punishment-esque moral exercise, with heavy-handed social commentaries and a rough ending that left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

August 26, 2008 Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com | Comment

Reservation Road, where the event central to this story takes place, is a symbolic crossroads for two families in this engaging drama about a hit and run accident and its aftermath.

August 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment
Urban Cinefile

Would-be screenwriters are advised to catch Reservation Road on cable as it provides an object lesson of three awful script clichés that are to be avoided at all costs.

May 1, 2008 Full Review Source: MSNBC | Comment

Um drama barato e maniqueísta que apela para truques narrativos rasos a fim de arrancar lágrimas do espectador e, assim, comprovar o próprio valor.

March 28, 2008 Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | Comment
Cinema em Cena

The filmmaker, whether in Rwanda or here at home, admirably weighs the difficult convictions and facile frailties of human nature, and those conflicting impulses towards cowardice and revenge or a far more arduous courage and honor, on a troubled planet.

January 26, 2008 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | Comment
NewsBlaze

The filmmaker, whether in Rwanda or here at home, admirably weighs the difficult convictions and facile frailties of human nature, and those conflicting impulses towards cowardice and revenge or a far more arduous courage and honor, on a troubled planet.

January 26, 2008 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | Comment
NewsBlaze

prospathei na piasei ligo ap' ola, alla kataligei na min ehei kanenan sygkekrimeno stoho katholoy, i toylahiston kanenan sygkekrimeno poy na mporei na moirastei olokliromena mazi soy

January 26, 2008 Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | Comment
Movies for the Masses

George's thriller reveals itself to be nothing more than a by the numbers melodrama that's only saved by the excellent performances...

January 4, 2008 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comment
Cinema Crazed

A disappointing drama featuring paper thin female characters is rescued only by a superb performance from Mark Ruffalo.

December 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | Comment
Oscar Guy

George sustains this lightweight soap opera with the predictable pap of a Lifetime channel movie...this particular Road is certainly under construction.

December 6, 2007 Full Review | Comment
Movie Eye
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Reservation Road

A film that manages to capture thoughts and raw emotions of all envolved after a tragic accident, in one tragic moments, changes the lives of everyone envolved. I've not seen Joaquin Phoenix display a serious performance like this before and felt it came across well, as did Mark Ruffalo.

September 7, 2007
76Majikat

Super Reviewer

Decent story concerning a father's anger of losing his son to a hit and run accident while the driver is suffering an enormous amount of guilt. Sometimes it feels like its stealing aspects from "In the Bedroom", a far better depiction concerning a father's need to avenge his son's death. Other times, this is compelling

March 31, 2009
Dan Schultz

Super Reviewer

Reservation Road Quotes

No quotes approved yet for Reservation Road. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Latest News for Reservation Road

April 7, 2008:
RT on DVD: There Will Be Blood Drinks Lions for Lambs, Dewey Cox's Milkshakes
P. T. Anderson's Oscar-winning oil opus There Will Be Blood hits shelves this week, so if you missed...

October 21, 2007:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampire Flick Scares Up #1 Debut
Bloodthirsty vampires flew high, depressing dramas sank, and many holdovers held up well at the...

What's Hot On RT

RT on DVD & Blu-Ray
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1

Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus

Woman in Black is Solid

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Total Recall
Total Recall

Unconventional Superheroes

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,470 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 44,197 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 27,022 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,529 taken
created 15 months ago
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile