Reservation Road

Name: Reservation Road
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Released: October 19, 2007
Duration: 102 min
Rating: 46
Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo

2007

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Ratings

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6.9

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6.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Ratings

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Reservation Road

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Movie Details & Credits

Focus Features | Release Date: October 19, 2007 | R

Starring: Jennifer Connelly, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo

Summary: Based on the critically acclaimed novel of the same name by John Burnham Schwartz, this is a compelling new dramatic thriller. 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 EmmaBased on the critically acclaimed novel of the same name by John Burnham Schwartz, this is a compelling new dramatic thriller. 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, Josh 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 toward his fateful encounter at Reservation Road. The accident happens so fast that Lucas is all but unaware, whereas Ethan--the only witness--is all too aware when 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. (Focus Features)… Expand

Director: Terry George

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 102 min

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Critic Reviews

Lisa Schwarzbaum

There's a kind of tough beauty to this deft, satisfying thriller. Read full review

Josh Rosenblatt

Connelly, in particular, soars as the nail-biting mother trying desperately to put on a brave face and keep her family together, while Ruffalo and Phoenix, two of Hollywood’s best brooders, are excellent as wounded young fathers. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Maitland McDonagh

It's hard to watch two fine actors working themselves into a lather for so little reward. Read full review

Dana Stevens

The kind of movie that moves you to tears even as you resent the manipulative mechanics of the story. Read full review

M. E. Russell

Serious Acting Opportunities abound! Unfortunately, sharp dialogue and characters who keep you riveted do not. Read full review

Kirk Honeycutt

Paints itself into a corner, creating a static situation in which everyone is either stymied or wracked by indecision, leaving the movie free for its two male leads to wallow in self-pity, remorse and bad behavior. Read full review

Manohla Dargis

This is one of those sadistic exercises that puts its characters through the wringer without saying anything true or meaningful. Read full review

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User Reviews

MorganW.

Jan 31, 2009

I think this is one of the best films of 2007. I disagree with those who think that there is no redemption in this story. It rivals films like The Believer in its portrayal of internal conflict, and it is a beautiful (and heartbreaking) study of morality. This film is undoubtedly worth seeing.

1 of 1 users found this helpful

Nazgulero

Dec 14, 2010

The only criterium I have for liking or not liking a movie is: do I keep watching ? This one, I definitely did keep watching. The acting is superb, the unfolding drama and conflict are intense. I wonder why these movies never really make it to the big screen...

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

TrevorD.

Apr 18, 2008

Brilliant story line.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JayH.

Mar 29, 2008

Starts out very promising, but there are too many coincidences and the pace slows. Still, I always found it interesting, even though it is improbable. Well acted.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

ChadS.

Apr 10, 2008

There's a small minority out there who felt that Todd Field's award-winning "In the Bedroom" went off the rails in the final act when the father of the dead goes after his son's attacker. Some believe, me included, that the mild-mannered father's pro-active approach There's a small minority out there who felt that Todd Field's award-winning "In the Bedroom" went off the rails in the final act when the father of the dead goes after his son's attacker. Some believe, me included, that the mild-mannered father's pro-active approach towards justice was antithetical to his character, therefore, the ensuing premeditated violence seemed to have come out of the blue. In "Reservation Road", an irate father doesn't take the high road either, but you can see the payback from a mile away, and it might(or might not) be a bitch. "Reservation Road" is not a flawed film. It's a film with flaws, but not fatally so. The performances bear the weight of the many plot contrivances. In particular, Jennifer Connelly, who obliterates her sexpot past in a crying scene motivated by that most heartbreaking of epiphanies-I'm responsible for my child's death. She's not, and as the story progresses, Grace(Connelly) seems to have arrived at that conclusion. But here's the problem. While "Reservation Road" is busy showing us how Ethan(Joaquin Phoenix) reaches a mindset by which Dwight's days are suddenly numbered, the film neglects to detail Grace's inroads to the halfway house of her own making. Grace still mourns her son, but at some undocumented juncture, she stopped blaming herself. Connelly is so good here, you'll wish that "Reservation Road" didn't veer away from her road to recovery. The film takes leave of that bumpy thoroughfare and runs smack dab into another artery, Ethan's artery. When the boy dies, Emma(Elle Fanning) is consoled by her father. She's her father's daughter. Sean(Josh Learner) was his mother's son. Her pain, not his, should always be the focal point of "Reservation Road".… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Tss5078

Aug 1, 2016

Some stories can be extremely compelling and make for truly heart-wrenching drama, but no matter how real the story is or how much we feel for the characters, there are only so many angles and so many ways to tell a story. After a school residual, The Learner family stops to get gas andSome stories can be extremely compelling and make for truly heart-wrenching drama, but no matter how real the story is or how much we feel for the characters, there are only so many angles and so many ways to tell a story. After a school residual, The Learner family stops to get gas and their 10 year old son goes to release fireflies by the side of the road. At the same time, a man returning from the Red Sox game is more interested in his cell phone than the road, and runs the young boy over. From there on the movie is as you would expect it to be. One side is devastated while the other is in cover up mode. The police investigation, vigilantism, bereavement, and the justice system get involved in what turns out to be little more than a lifetime movie of the week. Joaquin Phoenix is fantastic as the grieving father out seeking revenge, in the kind of performance that really makes you feel for the guy, but aside from that, Reservation Road is just a very predictable film that is out for one thing, your tears. It's a sad story told from every possible angle, covering every possible thing that could happen in a situation like this, and it's definitely preaching about the dangers of distracted driving. If not for the huge cast, this could have easily been a lifetime movie, as the writing was that predictable and amateurish. The bottom line on Reservation Road is that it's a preachy, predictable, tear-jerker, without much substance, probably not worth your time unless you like that kind of thing.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

PaulW.

Apr 2, 2008

2 hours of the most ridiculous melodrama with no end in sight which becomes progressingly worse after half way. A hit and run tale is a sad one but surely this doesn't justify bludgeoning the audience with overwrought drama scene after scene after scene. While there is practically no 2 hours of the most ridiculous melodrama with no end in sight which becomes progressingly worse after half way. A hit and run tale is a sad one but surely this doesn't justify bludgeoning the audience with overwrought drama scene after scene after scene. While there is practically no story progression to speak of and no development in the 2 dimensional characters, the leaden script makes every bit of acting feel completely overdone. Any sympathy for the characters? forget it, they are merely cardboard soap-personae who don't exist in the real world and who soon become highly annoying as such. Cringeworthy at best, this lackluster storytelling-void will be forgotten soon and rightfully so. Do yourself a favor and see something else… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

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