camille_roth This is a superbly acted movie, very intuitive, sad, and definitely worth watching. Jennifer Connelly is outstanding, really all three leads are tremendous. A relatable very well done film. The miss of the police force when Ruffalo's character goes in hooks the viewer and creates believable tension. Ending is realistic and satisfying. Touches on multiple aspects of the situation and base for the story. The viewer is not left with holes to figure out on their own. The actors convey the intensity of the situation. Moody, intense without going overboard. A human story with tragedy that teaches multiple lessons. Get ready to be impressed!

Desertman84 Reservation Road is a film based on the book of the same title by John Burnham Schwartz.The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo, deals with the aftermath of a tragic car accident.Jennifer Connelly and Mira Sorvino play key supporting roles.It was directed by Terry George.When his son is killed in an unsolved hit-and-run accident, a grieving father spends his waking hours seeking vengeance against the man who perpetrated the deadly crime. It was a warm September evening when college professor Ethan Learner, his wife, Grace, and their daughter, Emma, went to see Emma's ten-year-old brother, Josh, play cello at a recital. As usual, Josh's performance is superb and the rest of his family wells up with pride. Later, a chance stop at a gas station on Reservation Road results in a tragedy that will leave the surviving members of the family forever broken. On that same evening, hours earlier, law associate Dwight Arno takes his 11-year-old son, Lucas, to see a Red Sox game. The loving father cherishes the time spent with his young son, and the pair hope to watch their favorite team pave a road to the World Series. When the game ends, Dwight prepares to drop Lucas off with his mother, Ruth,who also happens to be Dwight's ex-wife. On the way home, Dwight and Lucas stop at a gas station on Reservation Road. There, the accident happens so fast that Lucas never even realized what his father had done. But this crime wasn't without a witness, because Ethan watched every horrifying second of the tragedy unfold with his own eyes. As the police are called and the investigation ensues, everyone involved responds to the incident in their own ways, and two grief- stricken fathers are faced with making the hardest decisions of their lives.This far from being a good movie due to the contrivances and highly improbable plot turns,but it manages to be moving at times due to the fact that its talented cast.This was characterized mainly as a melodrama saved by excellent performances.Too bad it never tried to maximize its potential to tell a great story.

Ludwig_von_Mises I could easily rate a hundred movies a day on here, and it would take a good month to go through all the movies I've seen (much less television episodes). With about half of those movies, I think to myself, 'This is that movie I'm thinking about, isn't it?'. Perhaps forty percent more I can distinctly remember having seen, and a few minor plot elements, but no more. Only a percent or two of those movies are truly memorable - are ones that you find yourself quoting (i.e. "Go ahead, make my day", etc.) This movie, however, falls somewhere between those two places.I can remember watching this movie. I can remember quite a bit of it, despite having watched it months ago - probably a whole lot better than I can remember the other movies I watched at that time. I can also remember having been enthralled by the film. And yet, for the life of me, I cannot possibly remember why I liked it so much. Had I rated this title the day I watched it, I'd have probably given it ten stars; yet, after only a few months, the reasoning has completely escaped me. I typically give this type of movie a seven star rating, but something tells me it was far better than your average similar-themed drama.The plot was good - with a tad too much irony, as is common in most Hollywood films. (It's not much of a SPOILER, but I'll list it as a SPOILER alert because I wouldn't have wanted to know had I read a review before having watched this movie.) The man who hits and kills Joaquin's character's son is the same lawyer whom Joaquin hires later on. Out of all the lawyers to be found in whatever city you are in (they make up a good 50 pages of my local telephone directory), he had to hire his son's killer. Sure, without that touch of irony, the movie wouldn't have been half as good as it was, yet something about it still, though making the movie, ruined it as well.Anyway, this is definitely a movie I'd recommend (and have recommended) to anybody looking for a good, heartfelt drama.

treeline1 When a child is killed in a hit and run accident, both his grieving father, Ethan (Joaquin Phoenix), and the guilt-ridden killer, Dwight, (Mark Ruffalo) suffer horribly. Things get even worse when Ethan hires Dwight to solve the case.The first 90 minutes of the movie were very good. The anguish of both father and killer was intense and obviously building to an emotional climax. The actors blew it in the final scene, however; neither actor had the depth to convey the misery the script demanded. The great build-up fell flat with shallow and unconvincing acting. Another problem was that the two male leads looked too much alike; they had to give Phoenix a bushy lumberjack beard so we could tell them apart and it was distracting. Also, Jennifer Connelly was never believable as a devastated mother; in fact, her reaction when the child died made me assume she was his step-mother.This is a disappointing movie.