Reservation Road is a 2007 film directed by Terry George and based on the book of the same title by John Burnham Schwartz, who, along with George, adapted the novel for the screenplay. The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo, deals with the aftermath of a tragic car accident. It was released to theaters on October 19, 2007.
Plot
Dwight Arno (Mark Ruffalo), an attorney, is divorced from Ruth (Mira Sorvino). Their son, Lucas (Eddie Alderson), lives with Ruth, but Dwight has him on the weekends. While at Fenway Park watching a Red Sox game they are harassed by telephone calls from Ruth, telling Dwight that he is late returning the boy. Driving the boy home, Dwight hurries to avoid losing his right to weekly visits with Lucas. When he loses control of his vehicle, he accidentally hits a 10-year-old boy, Josh Learner (Sean Curley), who is crossing the road near a gas station to release fire flies he'd caught earlier. Aware that he has hit the boy, Dwight drives on. To Lucas, who has a minor injury, Dwight lies that they had collided with a log. He later hears in the news that the boy died.
Dwight tries to cover up the evidence that he did it: he parks his SUV, which has some damage, in the garage, and rents a car. When the police come by to ask to see the vehicle, he lies to them, saying that he had given it to a charity some time before. Later, when Lucas recalls in passing that Josh's death was on the same day as their trip to Fenway, Dwight lies that they were a week apart.
After the initial shock Grace (Jennifer Connelly) gradually tries to get on with life as normally as possible, but her husband, Ethan (Joaquin Phoenix), is obsessed with finding out who killed his son and frustrated with the lack of progress the police are making in their investigation. This causes much friction between the couple. Ethan decides to hire a lawyer, who, in a strange twist, turns out to be Dwight.
Out of guilt Dwight decides to turn himself in. At the police station he is at the point of telling the truth, but he does not get the chance. The investigating officer, thinking he has come as Ethan's lawyer, admits that there is little chance they will find the perpetrator, gives him papers with details about the investigation, and, being in a hurry, leaves the room before Dwight can say anything else.
Uncomfortably, Dwight encounters Ethan also in his leisure time: when he comes to Ruth's house to get Lucas for the weekend, Ethan is there to collect his daughter, who is taking piano lessons from Ruth. Guilt-ridden, Dwight again plans to confess. In anticipation of going to jail later, Dwight asks Ruth to have Lucas for a week, saying he has to go away for some time afterward. She is reluctant, but Dwight begs her in tears, saying that Lucas is all he has left. Seeing how desperately he wants this, she agrees.
Ethan discovers that Dwight is the perpetrator; in revenge, and fearing that Dwight would be sentenced to only a short time in prison, he buys a gun and comes to Dwight's house just as Lucas has gone to bed. Ethan points the gun at Dwight, who, eager to avoid danger and trauma to Lucas, begs Ethan that they, at least, go outside. With Dwight in the trunk of the car, Ethan brings him to a place where he plans to kill him. Because of Ethan's emotional state and resulting hesitation, Dwight manages to take the gun from Ethan and points it at him, later pointing it at himself, instead. Ethan, seeing that Dwight feels very bad about the accident himself, finally finds peace and leaves him there, where Dwight spends the night, alone with his demons. The film ends with Lucas, by himself, watching a taped confession to the hit-and-run that Dwight had made earlier.
Cast
Filming
The film was shot in Stamford, Connecticut starting in late October, 2006, with the opening scene at Cove Island Park. Parts of the movie were also filmed at Lake Compounce Amusement Park in Bristol, Connecticut and the Olde Blue Bird Inn & Gas Station and adjacent Baseball Field in Easton, CT Shots of Martha's Vineyard are used in the trailer and movie.
Critical reception
The film received generally mixed reviews from critics. As of October 07, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 37% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 103 reviews. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 56 out of 100, based on 30 reviews.
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