Reservation Road
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Jennifer Connelly, Joaquin PhoenixBrand: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAIN.
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
Published: 2008-04-01
DVD Release Date: 2008-04-08
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of Reservation Road
Movie Review: Grade A Drama
Summary: 5 Stars
"People keep saying you need to find closure. But there is no closure; there's only acceptance and resignation."
These are the rambling thoughts of a grieving parent and his struggle to live through the untimely death of his child in the brilliant and moving adaptation of "Reservation Road", a 1998 novel by John Burnham Schwartz. The film centralizes on four primary characters and the tragedy that binds them, starring Academy Award winning actresses Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) and Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite), Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac) and Academy Award nominated actor Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator).
The story begins simply enough: Ethan (Phoenix) and Grace Learner (Connelly) are driving their children home after a music recital when they make a brief stop at a service station. When their son Josh exits the car to let a jar full of fireflies loose, he becomes a victim of a hit-and-run accident, the impact killing him instantly. Dwight Arno (Ruffalo), a divorced attorney and the hit-and-run driver, is rushing his son Jake home to his erratic ex-wife Ruth (Sorvino), his cell phone the lapse in concentration that proves fatal. His fear and guilt propel him to leave the scene of the accident, his identity lost on any onlookers as Ethan hovers over Josh, crying out in agony.
Thoroughly distraught over their loss, the Learners want nothing more than the apprehension of the person responsible for Josh's death. Dissatisfied with the progress of local law enforcement, Ethan does his own detective work and decides to seek legal counsel and coincidentally becomes Dwight's client. When the two of them meet face-to-face, it becomes harder for Dwight to mask his guilty conscience as well as his crime and the Learners' marriage begins to crack under pressure from Grace's self-blame and Ethan's obsession with finding the perpetrator. All the combined anger, grief and guilt of each of the respective parties spur a climactic moment in which Ethan does what every grieving parent only wishes they could.
"Reservation Road" has a quiet intensity, replete with superb performances from all of its lead actors. I have been enthralled with Phoenix's phenomenal acting abilities ever since I saw him in "Gladiator" - his performance as Ethan Learner is every bit as intense and the anguish he depicts is heartbreaking and riveting. Connelly is an expert at emoting, Grace's pain so clearly expressed through her body, her face and her hypnotizing green eyes, perpetually saturated by tears. Her performance in "House of Sand and Fog" closely compares to this - Connelly is truly adept at playing tortured souls. Ruffalo is also excellent but I do think his abilities are trumped time and again by Phoenix; their scene together in the film's pivotal moment is sensational. Sorvino pops in and out but still manages to make a grand impression.
Author Schwartz and screenwriter/director Terry George collaborated on the screenplay for the film and the result is a deeply involved character study that allows its audience a peek at the raw wounds of sorrow beneath the bandage of adversity.
Bottom line: One of the better dramas out there, "Reservation Road" will resonate long after you've watched it, its story and performances wrenchingly exquisite.
Summary of Reservation Road
Academy AwardŽ nominee Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo and Academy AwardŽ winners Jennifer Connelly and Mira Sorvino deliver riveting performances in the gripping thriller Reservation Road. A powerful human story of anger, revenge and great courage, this film takes you on an intense journey that follows two fathers as their families and lives converge after the events of one fateful night. "Suspenseful, emotional and completely engrossing" (Pete Hammond, Maxim), Reservation Road is "a deft, satisfying thriller" (Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly).Similar DVD Movies
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