Reservation Road on DVD

Description

Emotional drama starring Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo as two fathers whose lives are changed forever by a terrible accident. Law associate Dwight Arno (Ruffalo) and his son Lucas (Eddie Alderson) are driving back to Lucas' mother's (Mira Sorvino) house after attending a baseball game. When Dwight swerves to avoid an oncoming car he hits 10-year-old Josh Learner (Sean Curley), killing him instantly. Panicked, Dwight speeds off. The only witness to the hit and run is Josh's father Ethan (Phoenix). The police are called in, and an investigation begins. Haunted by the tragedy, both fathers react in unexpected ways, as do Ethan's wife Grace (Jennifer Connelly) and his daughter Emma (Elle Fanning). As the investigation falters, Ethan loses patience with the police and begins his own search for truth and justice... Amazon.co.uk Review After grappling with civil war in Some Mother's Son and Hotel Rwanda, Terry George turns to the tranquility of the American suburbs. Based on the novel by John Burnham Schwartz, Reservation Road marks a smooth transition into seemingly alien territory. The Northern Irish director first introduces Connecticut professor Ethan () and attorney Dwight (). One night, they end up on the same road; Ethan is returning with his wife () and kids from a school recital, Dwight and his son are heading home after a baseball game. In an instant, Ethan's boy is killed in a hit-and-run accident. Dwight knows what he's done, but doesn't say a word, as he doesn't want to lose custody of his child. Impatient for justice, Ethan becomes convinced the authorities will never solve the case, so he tries to track down the killer himself. Coincidence builds on coincidence--Dwight's ex-wife (Mira Sorvino) teaches Ethan's daughter (Elle Fanning), and Ethan hires Dwight as his lawyer. Just as the attorney-client relationship forces the two men to work together, the script asks the same of these gifted actors. Fortunately, Phoenix and Ruffalo rise to the occasion. That said, movies about grieving parents can be a tough sell. It remains to be seen whether Reservation Road will benefit from the success of In the Bedroom and Mystic River--or suffer from the onslaught of cinematic grief. At the very least, it allows more light in at the end of its dark journey into the soul. -- Kathleen C. Fennessy