Review of Reservation Road (2007) by Steve H — 14 Jun 2008

This book was completely absorbing and extracted emotions I never knew people could feel. Think 'House of Sand and Fog' meets 'In the Bedroom.' I know the reviews were tepid, but I am excited to see how it was adapted.

Saw it, and it is 'Mystic River' meets 'In the Bedroom,' but much more procedural and filled with all kinds of internal turmoil that doesn't express itself well to the viewer. I actually didn't mind the adaptation- Schwartz added scenes, reinterpreted scenes, and even downplayed scenes from the book, but the scenes worked. But I saw all of these characters filled with struggles that surfaced occasionally, but that never warranted the emotional climaxes they reached.

The story is still very provoking, but the direction and photography are all paint by numbers and reminded me of a Lifetime or network original film. The only good performance here is Ruffalo, who mined the turmoil and struggle of a moral person who has made a BIG mistake and doesn't have the courage to right it or strength to pay penance. Connelly does a respectable job as a grieving mother who experiences the emotional arc of fighting and overcoming loss, but she is largely marginalized by the 'tell it all' directing style rather than the more preferred 'tell what matters most best.' Sorvino is forgettable and Phoenix is miscast and unable to go where this piece requires.

I really wanted to like this film and tell everyone how wrong they were and I honestly feel that a more adept director could have made it possible, but as it is this is engaging, elementary, procedural drama at stuck between made-for-TV and cinema.