Reservation Road

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Reservation Road ★★ 2007 (R)

Dwight Arno (Ruffalo) is a small town Connecticut lawyer. Already running late returning his son to his ex-wife's home at the end of a visitation day spent at a Red Sox game, Dwight accidentally strikes and kills a young boy with his car, then in a panic flees the scene. The dead boy's father, Ethan Learner (Phoenix), is a local professor who, expectedly grief stricken and filled with anger, becomes dissatisfied with local law enforcement's inability to find his son's killer and seeks the assistance of an attorney—who ends up being Dwight. Dwight, meanwhile, is obviously conflicted. An unfortunate series of coincidences stretch believability and derail this overly melodramatic story. Fans of Joaquin Phoenix will still enjoy his raw, emotional performance. 102m/C DVD . US Joaquin Rafael (Leaf) Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Sorvino, Elle Fanning, John Slattery, Antoni Corone, Sean Curley, Eddie Alderson; D: Terry George; W: John Burnham Schwartz; C: John Lindley; M: Mark Isham.