Reservation Road

Reservation Road

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Terry George
Produced by Nick Wechsler
A. Kitman Ho
Screenplay by John Burnham Schwartz
Terry George
Based on Reservation Road
by John Burnham Schwartz
Starring Joaquin Phoenix
Mark Ruffalo
Jennifer Connelly
Mira Sorvino
Music by Mark Isham
Cinematography John Lindley
Edited by Naomi Geraghty
Production
company
Distributed by Focus Features
Release dates
  • September 13, 2007 (2007-09-13) (Toronto International Film Festival)
  • October 19, 2007 (2007-10-19) (United States)
Running time
 98 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $1,783,190[1]

Reservation Road is a 2007 American drama film directed by Terry George[2] and based on the book of the same title by John Burnham Schwartz, who, along with George, adapted the novel for the screenplay.[3] The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo,[2] deals with the aftermath of a fatal car crash. It was released to theaters on October 19, 2007.

Plot

Dwight Arno (Ruffalo) is an attorney who is divorced from his wife Ruth (Sorvino). Ruth controls custody of their son Lucas (Alderson) while Dwight maintains visitation rights. Dwight and Lucas are at a baseball game when Ruth calls, informing Dwight that he is late returning their son home. Dwight drives Lucas home in a hurry, thinking he might otherwise forfeit his visitation privileges. When he loses control of his vehicle, he strikes a young boy, Josh Learner (Curley), who is standing by the roadside.

Aware that he has struck the boy, Dwight decides to flee the scene. He further lies to Lucas, who has a minor injury from the incident, saying that they had collided with a tree log. Dwight later hears on a newscast that Josh died in the collision. Subsequently, he tries to cover up the evidence which implicates him in the hit-and-run. After the initial shock of losing Josh, Grace (Connelly) gradually tries to get on with life, but her husband Ethan (Phoenix), is obsessed with finding out who killed their son and frustrated with the lack of progress the police are making in their investigation. Ethan eventually decides to hire a lawyer, who oddly enough turns out to be Dwight.

Ethan later discovers, quite by chance, that Dwight is the perpetrator. Fearing that Dwight would be incarcerated for only a few years via the court system, he buys a gun to dispense his own form of justice.

Cast

Production

Filming

The film was shot in Stamford, Connecticut, starting in late October, 2006, with the very first city scene from Annapolis MD, and the next scene at Cove Island Park. Parts of the movie were also filmed at Lake Compounce Amusement Park in Bristol, Connecticut, and the Olde Blue Bird Inn & Gas Station and adjacent Baseball Field in Easton, CT. Shots of Martha's Vineyard are used in the trailer and movie.

Release

Reservation Road grossed a total of $36,269 in its first weekend. It ended up making $121,994 in the United States, and ended with a worldwide gross of $1,783,190.[1] The film was released on DVD on April 8, 2008.[4]

Reception

The film received generally mixed reviews from critics. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 46 out of 100, based on 29 reviews.[5] Rotten Tomatoes gives the film 36% based on 111 critics and an audience score of 52%.[6]

References

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