By Michael Gavino
With strong acting and a thought provoking script, Reservation Road has all the elements of a great art film. What a welcome change from the CGI laden sequels that have dominated the silver screen of late. Reservation Road engrosses its audience by delving deep into the human psyche and making the audience ask, ?what would I do?? This deep examination of humanity is must viewing for the serious film connoisseur.??
The movie starts with Ethan Learner (Joaquin Phoenix), his loving wife Grace (Jennifer Connelly), and their young daughter Emma (Elle Fanning) listening to their 10-year-old son Josh (Sean Curley) perform at a recital. Meanwhile, in another part of town, attorney Dwight Arno (Mark Ruffalo) takes his 11-year-old son Lucas (Eddie Alderson) to a Red Sox game.
Unfortunately, the game runs late and his ex-wife Ruth Wheldon (Mira Sorvino) constantly calls Dwight yelling at him and demanding that Lucas be returned immediately. As soon as the game ends, Dwight and Lucas get into the car and head towards Ruth?s house. Soon they are speeding down Reservation Road.
Simultaneously, the Learner family is heading back home from their recital on Reservation Road. They pull into a gas station. Grace and Emma go to the bathroom while Ethan goes to the garage area to pick up some fluids for his car.
Before he goes, Ethan admonishes his son to stay in the car. Of course, being 10, Josh ignores him and exits the car.?Dwight and Lucas continue to barrel down Reservation Road approaching the gas station. Lucas puts his head down to change the radio station while a distracted Dwight losses control of his SUV. He tries to slam on the brakes, but his SUV leaves the road and runs over Josh.
The screeching tires capture Ethan’s attention as he turns around just in time to see his son get hit. A screaming Ethan runs toward his son. A panicked Dwight takes off telling Lucas that they hit a log.
Because Lucas was fiddling with the radio and didn?t see the accident, he believes his father. Sadly, Josh dies.?
The Learner family tries to cope. Ethan takes solace in trying to find Josh?s killer. He spends countless hours doing his own investigation and on relevant Internet chat rooms. His wife devotes herself to their remaining child.
Soon Grace starts to think that Ethan has emotionally abandoned their daughter due to his obsession while Ethan thinks Grace has forgotten about their dead son. The Learner family is falling apart.
Meanwhile, Dwight is racked with guilt, but refuses to turn himself in because he is afraid it will kill his blossoming relationship with his son. The story takes a dramatic twist when Ethan hires Dwight?s law firm to keep pressure on the police.
Dwight uses this position to learn what the police know about the crime. However, Ethan continues his own investigation and manages to piece together the crime leading to a dramatic conclusion.
Reservation Road revels in the complexity of the human psyche. The film shows the devastating effects the death of a child can have on a family. The audience can fully understand the father?s need for justice while, at the same time, it can understand the mother?s desire to move forward for their daughter.
Indeed neither parent can be painted as the bad one, the situation was just too awful for either to handle. Meanwhile, Dwight tries to come to terms with what he has done and how it will destroy his own family. His one moment of carelessness has destroyed two families.
Rarely, has a film captured the devastating effects of tragedy like Reservation Road. For this reason, Reservation Road is a film not to be missed.
