Review of Reservation Road (2007) by Meeza (Lobsterman) — 29 Sep 2008

The suburban melodrama "Reservation Road" does hit its humanistic characterizations brilliantly at times but at others it's just a bland, soapy "crash and burn" narrative. The story of a hit-and-run accident affecting the middle-class Connecticut family of the boy who was killed in the crash, and also the accidental driver had its hits but also near misses.

Joaquin Phoenix stars as Ethan Learner, a devoted father and college professor whose life instantly goes into a melancholy zone when his son Josh is accidentally killed in a motor vehicle crash in, yea you got it, Connecticut's Reservation Road.

Mark Ruffalo co-stars as Dwight Arno, the divorced father who has the misfortunes of doing the nightmarish driving deed. Jennifer Connelly plays Ethan's wife Grace, who also sorrows throughout the film due to the nightmarish parent tragedy.

Mira Sorvino plays Dwight's ex-wife Ruth, who is very controlling with her ex-hubbie on the parental caretaking of their son Lucas. These characters are all interjected by accident when Dwight tardily drives his son Lucas back to Ruth's house after a Boston Red Sox game and his Explorer accidentally runs over young Josh on the side of the road while he was releasing some fireflies from a jar.

Dwight panics and keeps on driving all the way to official "hit and run" territory. Eventually Ethan goes into "seek and destroy" revenge mode in trying to track down the "unknown" hit-man behind his son's death.

Due to his intrinsic and external anger, Ethan disconnects himself from his grieving wife and daughter. Discouraged by law enforcement's efforts to track down the "hit and run" driver, Ethan seeks legal counseling from a law firm who Hollywoodisitic coincidentally enough, employs Dwight as one his lawyers.

Director Terry George then drives the story into a few predictable illegal turns that should have been revoked from his cinematic license. And I also had major reservations with George's run-of-the-mill "dead end" finale of "Reservation Road".

I must say that my George did proficiently master the directorial art of getting the best of his thespians because Phoenix, Ruffalo, Connelly, and Sorvino were not an acting environmental hazard to "Reservation Road" and were driven to steer their characters in the fitting poignant direction.

I would not cancel my reservations with "Reservation Road", but I do warn you to proceed with caution at times through this mediocre movie highway. *** Average.