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
Connelly), and their daughter, Emma (Elle Fanning), went to see Emma's ten-year-old brother, Josh (Sean Curley), play cello at a recital. As usual, Josh's performance is superb and the rest of his family wells up with pride. Later, a chance stop at a gas station on Reservation Road results in a tragedy that will leave the surviving members of the family forever broken. On that same evening, hours earlier, law associate Dwight Arno (Ruffalo) takes his 11-year-old son, Lucas (Eddie Alderson), to see a Red Sox game. The loving father cherishes the time spent with his young son, and the pair hope to watch their favorite team pave a road to the World Series. When the game ends, Dwight prepares to drop Lucas off with his mother, Ruth (Mira Sorvino) -- who is also Dwight's ex-wife. On the way home, Dwight and Lucas stop at a gas station on Reservation Road. There, the accident happens in a flash -- so fast that Lucas never even realized what his father had done. But this crime wasn't without a witness, because Ethan watched every horrifying second of the tragedy unfold with his own eyes. As the police are called and the investigation ensues, everyone involved responds to the incident in their own ways, and two grief-stricken fathers are faced with making the hardest decisions of their lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
stuff, with Phoenix and Ruffalo giving outstanding performances. Some of the scenes are very overdone though, with enough yelling and tears to last a lifetime. The end lacks closure big time.
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