Reservation Road
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Jennifer Connelly, Mark Ruffalo, Mira Sorvino, Elle Fanning
DIRECTOR: Terry George
Two normal families find their lives woven together by a tragedy with perhaps few parallels. Dwight (Ruffalo) is rushing his son home to his ex-wife (Sorvino) when he accidentally mows down the 10-year-old son of Ethan Learner (Phoenix), who is returning from a cello performance. Afraid the courts will take away what remaining rights he has over his child, Dwight drives away, fearing the worst and praying he has hit only a log.
The next morning, as the full force of what happened on Reservation Road hits Dwight and Ethan and his family (including wife Grace played by Connolly), they can't be the same. Ethan is intent on justice, even revenge, while Dwight is torn between doing the right thing and the fear of losing his son.
They didn't know each other before, but Dwight now finds he can never escape the Learners, or their sorrow. They live only a block away, his ex-wife was the dead child's music teacher, and eventually Dwight is hired by the unsuspecting Ethan to be his lawyer.
How does Dwight cope with his guilt, and Ethan with his grief? Reservation Road, based on a novel by John Burnham Schwartz, lets you see it for yourself.
The performances are cadenced and director Terry George, who wrote the screenplay, never tries to rush things.
The drama of the two families, running parallel to each other and in contrast to each other, unfolds slowly and gradually. And all through there is an undercurrent of an impending showdown. You flinch at the sound of every passing vehicle.
Quiet and understated, Reservation Road reminds you at places of Mystic River, in the way it invokes normal people thrown into abnormal situations. All three main actors, Phoenix, Ruffalo and Connelly, are excellent in their roles. No one can portray as much inner torture as Connelly through her eyes, but Ruffalo — who has the most difficult part — almost manages to.