Excellent, a Must See

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

College professor Ethan Learner (Joaquin Phoenix), his wife Grace, their son Joah and daughter Emma (Elle Fanning) stop at a gas station late at night. Josh gets out. Dwight Arno (Mark Ruffalo) accidentally runs him over and drive away. Dwight is a divorced dad afraid of losing the limited custody of his son. Ethan is impatient for progress in the police investigation. He hires lawyers and Dwight turns out to be an associate in the firm. As the investigation tightens, the question becomes what what Ethan do when he finds the perpetrator.The actors are some of the best. The material is an unrelenting grind. It insists on pounding the emotional darkness. It is heavy. It also refuses to take sides. However, the crushing load doesn't lead to a satisfying ending. It's a long straight grind with some terrific actors doing good work. The ending could have gone several different ways but it seems to have taken the straight ahead main road.

Released in 2007, "Reservation Road" is a sad drama starring Mark Ruffalo as a divorced father in coastal Connecticut who commits a hit and run while in a hurry. He struggles with guilt and considers turning himself in while the father of the victim (Joaquin Phoenix) becomes obsessed with finding the perpetrator. Mira Sorvino and Jennifer Connelly play the ex-wife and wife respectively. Losing a child must be one of the most difficult tragedies to experience. Accidentally killing a child and then foolishly fleeing the scene would no doubt be just as hard. The two-pronged storyline culminates in an unpredictable and generally realistic conclusion. The acting is convincing on all counts. Like 2003's "House of Sand and Fog" this is a quality drama but you have to be in the mood for a tragic story. Thankfully, there are positive subtexts.The film didn't have a wide release and therefore failed at the box office, but it's on par with similar downbeat dramas like the aforementioned "House of Sand and Fog" and 2008's "Revolutionary Road." The film runs 102 minutes and was shot in Stamford, Fairfield and Easton, Connecticut. GRADE: B

I happened upon this on Netflix the other day and it looked an interesting idea. Added to that it stars three of my favourite actors in Mark Ruffalo, Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Connolley. It's a pretty grim story and one that is particularly hard to watch if you have kids. Losing a child is every parents worst nightmare especially to something that may be avoidable like a hit and run. The film throws in an interesting curve-ball as the perpetrator of the crime Mark Ruffalo is not some low life scumbag but a normal loving father himself who is overcome by grief at the crime he has committed. It's a slow burning tale but excellently acted throughout by the three main players who bring the sad tale to life in a realistic and sensitive way. This is a fine film that explores a difficult subject well and whilst it is by no means a perfect movie (it loses it's way a little halfway through) it is well worth a watch for those that like hard hitting emotional drama.

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.