Reservation Road

Reservation Road rips into you like a hurricane. This film, based on the acclaimed 1998 novel by John Burnham Schwartz (who coscripted with director Terry George), is a powerful human drama that packs a strong punch. It's one of a series of "downer, feel-bad" movies being crowded into the fall; a wrenching story of a split-second decision that changes the course of several lives that's suspenseful, emotional, and completely engrossing throughout. Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Connelly play loving parents whose lives are abruptly shattered when they stop for gas and a van swerving to miss a large truck runs smack into their 10-year-old son instead. The driver (Mark Ruffalo), a down-on-his-luck father coming back from a Red Sox game with his son, freaks out and leaves the scene without stopping because he thinks he will lose visiting privileges when his ex-wife (Mira Sorvino) finds out. With different stages of grief tearing their family apart, Phoenix becomes determined to see that justice is done, not realizing that the man appointed as his lawyer in the case is actually none other than Ruffalo. Phoenix and Ruffalo are sensational, and Connelly delivers one of her best performances. The theme of hatred and revenge running throughout is brought to a boil late in the film when the predictable black and white resolution you think is coming turns instead into something much deeper and more complex. At times the story becomes a little too pat and coincidental, occasionally turning a bit too melodramatic. But at its core this is a fine film that examines the idea that you can run, but ultimately you can't hide, especially from yourself.