Reservation Road

Review By: Andrea Tuccillo
AndreaTuccillo@TheCinemaSource.com

Reservation Road is a haunting portrait of guilt and grief shown from contrasting sides of a horrific hit-and-run accident. The film is one big grey area; none of the characters are impervious to making mistakes, but none are inhuman either. It’s the tricky, morally ambiguous films that make you think, how would I react in this situation? With the help of powerfully outstanding performances by all three leads, Reservation Road aims to do just that.

Directed by Terry George and based on the novel by John Burnham Schwartz, the film begins when a young boy is struck and killed by a swerving car after he strays from the family car while stopped at a gas station. In a panic, and with a sleeping son of his own in the car, the driver speeds away. The repercussions of this tragic night affect the people involved in life-changing ways.

Ethan and Grace Learner (Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Connelly at their best) are the grieving parents, but each deal with their devastation differently. Grace sinks into depression, but brings herself out of it for the sake of their daughter Emma (Elle Fanning) and tries to move on with her life. Ethan becomes consumed with finding justice and tracking down the driver responsible. In the process he begins neglecting all else, including his family.

Dwight Arno (the underrated yet always brilliant Mark Ruffalo) is the guilt-ridden driver, a man who impulsively acted out of self-preservation and cowardice. He did something unspeakable, but his character is sympathetic because the fears he has are relatable. As much as we’d like to believe it, there aren’t many brave heroes out there. We hesitate, we run, we don’t always do the right thing. It is Dwight’s selfish longing to be a good parent to his own child that ultimately holds him back from confessing his crime.

As time goes on the lives of both fathers grow more intertwined, further fueling Dwight’s shame and adding to Ethan’s betrayal once he finds out the truth.

The premise isn’t extraordinarily unique or profound, but it’s the acting that puts this film over the top where it may have otherwise fallen flat. The soulful Mark Ruffalo is a tangle of suppressed emotions, an imperfect man heading into a downward spiral. This could finally be Ruffalo’s year to shine come awards season, and frankly, it’s been a long time in the making. Joaquin Phoenix puts himself through the emotional ringer for his role and pulls out a truly gut-wrenching performance. The final confrontation between Ethan and Dwight is explosive. Ethan’s teeth-gritted rage and Dwight’s corrosive regret finally collide in a brilliantly acted scene. Both are desperate men with more in common then they realize.

Jennifer Connelly is superb as a distraught mother trying to move on with her life. The scene in which Grace comes to ...