Reservation Road (2007)

Focus Features
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details
Studio: Focus Features
Rating: R
Release Date: Oct 19, 2007
Running Time: 102 mins.
Country Of Origin: United States
synopsis
A tale of anger, revenge, and great courage, the film follows two fathers as their families and lives converge. On a warm September evening, college professor Ethan Learner, his wife Grace, and their daughter Emma are attending a recital. Their 10-year-old son Josh is playing cello--beautifully, as usual. His younger sister looks up to him, and his parents are proud of their son. On the way home, they all stop at a gas station on Reservation Road. There, in one terrible instant, he is taken from them forever. On a warm September evening, law associate Dwight Arno and his 11-year-old son Lucas are attending a baseball game. Their favorite team, the Red Sox, is playing--and, hopefully, heading for the World Series. Dwight cherishes his time spent with Lucas. Driving his son back to his ex-wife, Lucas' mother Ruth Wheldon, Dwight heads towards his fateful encounter at Reservation Road. The accident happens so fast that Lucas is all but unaware, while Ethan--the only witness--is all too aware, as a panicked Dwight speeds away. The police are called, and an investigation begins. Haunted by the tragedy, both fathers react in unexpected ways, as do Grace and Emma. As a reckoning looms, the two fathers are forced to make the hardest choices of their lives.
cast + crew
Director
Ethan Learner
Dwight Arno
Grace Learner
Ruth Wheldon
Emma Learner
Lucas Arno
Josh Learner
Cello Player
Elegant Parent
Jimmy McBride
Screenplay
Screenplay
Source Material
Producer
Executive Producer
Executive Producer
Producer
reviews
Source
rating  PETER TRAVERS - October 18, 2007
Even the best actors -- and I'd rank Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo among their generation's finest -- can't save a movie that aims for tragedy but stalls at soap opera. Directed by Terry George from a novel by John Burnham Schwartz, the film concerns a hit-and-run that shatters two families. Phoenix plays the father who sees a car slam into his ten-year-old son. Ruffalo is the driver who flees the scene and hides his trail when the child dies. Jennifer Connelly and Mira Sorvino portray wives… Continued
Source
rating

If it weren't for a few powerful performances from an A-list cast, Reservation Road would venture dangerously close to soapy movie-of-the-week territory.

Story

Reservation Road zeros in on a parent's worst nightmare--the loss of a child. In this case, it's when college professor Ethan Learner (Joaquin Phoenix) and his wife Grace (Jennifer Connelly) lose their 10-year-old son in a hit-and-run accident. The driver of the car is Dwight Arno (Mark Ruffalo), a local lawyer who panics and races away… Continued