Reservation Road (2007) R - 4 Stars

I've gone back and forth over my rating of this movie and 4 won out. The story sizzles out a bit a couple times which makes me want 3½ Stars, but I liked this type of mind screwing movie so, I went back up. Okay enough said about that.

Dwight Arno (Mark Ruffalo) now divorced, is returning from a Red Sox game he and his son Lucas (Eddie Alderson) were attending. Ethan Learner (Joaquin Phoenix) is also returning from an outing with his wife Grace (Jennifer Connolly), their daughter Emma (Elle Fanning) and their son Josh (Sean Curley). When the Learners pull over to use the restroom, Josh decides to let the fireflies go his mom told the children they could not keep. Dwight and his sleeping son are traveling down the road when an oncoming car swerves towards them, they swerve and hit Josh by the curb. Dwight slows down as he's thrown his son Lucas into the dashboard and tells him they hit a log and speeds off as Josh lay dead on the side of the road.

When weeks later the police can not turn up any leads, Ethan hires a lawyer. Of yeah I forgot to mention, Dwight is a lawyer. Yep you guessed it - Ethan hires Dwight to find himself?

Neither men can sleep at night, one from knowing the killer is out there and one guilt ridden every time he thinks of his son. When Ethan finds a photo of the killers car, he takes matters into his own hands.

Focus Features
Director: Terry George
Writers: Terry George, John Burnham Schwartz
Producers: A. Kitman Ho, Nick Wechsler

I viewed 5/08