Returning from a school concert, Ethan Learner and his family stop for a breather at a gas station. A speeding SUV, while trying to avoid another car, fatally hits Ethan's young son Josh. Unable to come to terms with what he has done, Dwight Arno, driver of the SUV speeds away into the night. Frustrated with the local police's inability to find the perpertrator of the crime, Ethan decides to hire a lawyer to track down his son's killer and extract revenge. Ironically the lawyer turns out to be Dwight.
The lead cast is magnetic, with Joaquin Phoenix as Ethan and MarkRuffalo as Dwight squaring up against each other. These acting powerhouses are two of the most overlooked actors in Hollywood. Every time they come on the screen produces a memorable moment in the filem - especially the scene where Ethan tries to extract the truth out of Dwight as they visit the crime scene. However, the rest of the cast have not been given as much importance - Jennifer Connolly as Grace (Ethan's wife), and Mira Sorvino as Dwight's estranged wife Ruth. The deterioration in relationship between Ethan and Grace after the gruesome incident is left undeveloped, whereas Ruth's presence is reduced to a few handful scenes.
Coming from Terry George, the director of the aclaimed Hotel Rwanda, Reservation Road disappoints majorly. The culprit in the movie seems to be the screenplay. What was a powerful premise is weakened by the screenplay. The climax of the movie looks contrived, as if taken out of a cheap bollywood tearjerker. At 90 minutes, one feels that the movie could have been longer, and the unexplored relationships between the actors been explored more. It's true that Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo light up the screen with their presence - the duo probably make up for the rest of the fallacies in the movie. But what promises to be a mouthwatering recipe turns out to be a half-cooked meal in the end.
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