Reservation Road

Based on the novel by John Burnham Schwartz, Reservation Road follows a college professor (Joaquin Phoenix’s Ethan) as he attempts to cope with the death of his young son at the hands of a hit-and-run driver (Mark Ruffalo’s Dwight). Though his wife (Jennifer Connelly’s Grace) wants to put the tragedy behind them, Ethan, frustrated at the police’s inability to catch the perpetrator, becomes increasingly consumed with thoughts of revenge. It’s ultimately hard not to feel a twinge of disappointment at Reservation Road‘s decidedly less-than-compelling vibe, as the film features a premise that should’ve resulted in an electrifying, thoroughly compelling piece of work (somewhere along the lines of thematically-similar efforts 21 Grams and In the Bedroom). And while the film is consistently entertaining, it never quite packs the emotional wallop that one might’ve hoped for – with the final confrontation between Ethan and Dwight especially disappointing. The inclusion of a number of almost ridiculous coincidences within the storyline (eg Dwight’s ex-wife is Ethan’s daughter’s teacher, Ethan eventually hires Dwight as his lawyer, etc) certainly doesn’t help matters, although it does remain fairly easy to overlook such concerns thanks to the uniformly effective performances (Phoenix is especially good here). In the end, however, Reservation Road would’ve clearly benefited from the presence of a stronger filmmaker behind the camera – as Terry George just doesn’t seem to have the temperament for such material.

**1/2 out of ****