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TIFF Review: Reservation Road
Posted Sep 10th 2007 8:02PM by James Rocchi
Filed under: Drama, Theatrical Reviews, Festival Reports, Focus Features, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical Indie

Late one night, a family stops at a gas station as they return from a recital; another man drives his son home from a baseball game. A young boy steps too near the road; a father swerves his SUV to avoid oncoming traffic.

And hits the boy. And keeps going.

Reservation Road, the new film from Hotel Rwanda director Terry George, doesn't deal in the clashing of mighty armies or the conflict between nations; it looks at a smaller slice of the world. At the same time, the themes here -- guilt, sorrow, anger, forgiveness -- are explored with power and passion thanks to two extraordinary lead performances. Joaquin Phoenix plays Ethan, a college professor dealing with the sudden death of his son and how that's affecting his wife (Jennifer Connelly) and daughter (Ellie Fanning). He can't go on. He has to go on. Mark Ruffalo plays Dwight, a lawyer who's just drifting through his life -- his job, his shabby apartment, the ruins of his marriage -- and trying to be a good dad to his son (Eddie Alderson). When Dwight strikes and kills Ethan's son, he keeps going -- a single moment of weakness that comes to devour him. He didn't do anything deliberately. But that's no excuse. It was an accident. But it killed someone.

Reservation Road runs between two well-explored pieces of cinematic terrain: The heartfelt family tragedy and the more visceral revenge thriller. Ethan's trying to deal with the pain he's feeling; people keep saying things like "Your Josh is an angel now ..." -- as if that were some kind of consolation. Dwight's tormented by what he's done, yet can't bring himself to do what he knows he has to. At the same time, we do get some of the velocity of a thriller: Ethan wants to know why the police can't seem to find the man who killed his son, and wants to take matters into his own hands; Dwight tries to keep his sin hidden, but events -- and his own guilt -- work against him and force him into choices with desperation and fear behind them.

As Ethan, Phoenix is strong enough to be weak -- to let us see his fury and sorrow and self-pity -- and he also gets one truly great scene. (Ethan may teach politics at the local college, but it's fairly clear he's read Hamlet. ...) There are a few showier notes in his performances, but they still have the ring of truth to them. As for Ruffalo, his work is, if anything, even better -- more rich, more real -- as Dwight tries to come to grips with what has to be done, tries to put the rest of his life right in the wake of something that can never be undone. Dwight is less bad than he is weak -- and one of the pleasures of Ruffalo's performance is watching Dwight himself realize that.

George directs with restraint -- there are a few flashy moments, like when we snap into Dwight's point-of-view as a chance encounter sets his world reeling -- but by and large, the movie's a well-shot, finely-crafted framework made to display the performances within. Connelly is, as ever, excellent, and child actors Fanning and Alderson both deliver some great moments -- simple statements, innocent questions -- that have far more effect than you first think. Reservation Road would probably, ironically, fare better at the box office if it weren't as good -- if Dwight was more of a monster, if Ethan's sadness didn't clearly start eating away at his soul. Phoenix and Ruffalo probably signed on to Reservation thinking that parts this good were few and far between; they were right, and watching the two of them at work is the greatest pleasure Reservation Road has to offer.

(Reservation Road opens October 19th.)
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Thank you to Lovely Bine for my beautiful siggy!

Sounds like this critic really enjoyed the film.... thank you for posting this review Lola. October will be JP time at the movies...
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Oh I can't wait to see the movie ... and I have to wait for soooooooo long.... cry

*sniff*

*pulls herself together* What a good review, thanks Lori! hug

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Thank you Lori. It sounds great! Lets hope, that it will be great movie.
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Thank you Sabine for my beautiful signature !!!

Thnx Lori it sounds great can't wait to see it welldone

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Thnx so much for my great siggy Sabine !!!!
Youre a true artist

Thank you Lori!! hug

I am looking forward to seeing it so much. woohoo

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Thank you Sabine for my beautiful siggie!

That is one of the best reviews I've read so far!

Another nice review....

'Reservation Road' spotlights sombre mood in AmericaUpdated Thu. Sep. 13 2007 9:24 AM ET

Constance Droganes

Mark Ruffalo and Joaquin Phoenix are two Hollywood actors who get along.

Jabbing and joking like two brothers at a lengthy church sermon, the giggling pair roughhoused a bit during their press conference at the Toronto International Film Festival. Such camaraderie seems inevitable after working on a gut-wrenching new film such as "Reservation Road."

Directed by Terry George and co-starring Mira Sorvino and Jennifer Connelly, this tragic tale follows two fathers and their converging lives after a terrible accident takes place one warm September evening. One family is driving back to their lovely Connecticut residence after their son's concert. In another car a father and son head home after a great time at a baseball game.

Then in one fleeting instant at a gas station on Reservation Road, calamity strikes the two unsuspecting families.

"Considering the heavy nature of subject matter we had a lot of fun," says Sorvino. She, like Connelly, play the two wives left reeling in the aftermath of this fatal accident.

Being a mother didn't stop Connelly from tackling George's tough new film.

"I couldn't let myself think about my own children," she confesses, using books on grief, death and dying instead to prepare for the role.

As Connelly says, "I try not to bring work home with me but I had terrible dreams. It really affected me."

A nightmare in Connecticut

For George, setting this drama in one of the most beautiful places in the America seemed only fitting.

"I wanted to make a film about two people in Connecticut - the nicest place in the world - and have the worst thing happen to them," says George.

"Hopefully people will go and see the movie and think that could have been me."

Beyond the death of a child - a parent's worst nightmare, "Reservation Road" is also driven by a sense of powerlessness that many Americans are feeling today.

"Both men feel powerless in the middle of such chaos and I think this film explores that," says Sorvino.

The mood of a decade

Moving the film's themes to a wider, contemporary political context, Sorvino says, "If there is a feeling of the decade it's passivity on the part of citizens to take charge of what is happening in their world."

With so many political movies at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, George says, "It's the zeitgeist of the moment. There's a more sombre mood in America."

Calling this new crop of films "a moral voice" and part of "the subconscious of the culture," Ruffalo points his finger, as have many at this festival, to the war in Iraq.

"We didn't ask enough questions before we invaded Iraq. We know that it's wrong to demonize an entire culture without knowing about it. But to this day we still don't know about Muslims and what their beef is," says Ruffalo.

When asked about an orange bracelet that he and pal Phoenix have tied about their wrists, Ruffalo says it's part of his personal campaign to have President George W. Bush impeached.

Phoenix turns to his friend, smile beaming, saying, "You didn't tell me that."

Once again the friendly pokes and jabs resume between the two men, proving that in some rare cases politics and tragedy can make for good company.

- Constance Droganes, entertainment writer, CTV.ca

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