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Rating: It is probably one of the most common mistakes in the cinematic field: labeling a film with a genre and then encountering something completely different. It's a bit like what happened with the recent "The Road" by John Hillcoat, a fate also met by "Reservation Road," the fourth feature film by the Irishman Terry George, the second of those that achieved some significance.
Why this premise? Even before its release (2007), "Reservation Road" was spoken of as a thriller. The general expectation was therefore to witness a work filled with suspense and tension. In reality, what the director of the acclaimed "Hotel Rwanda" brings to the big screen is nothing more than one of the most painful realities that today's world presents to us daily.
Starting from the novel of the same name by John Burnham Schwartz (here also a screenwriter alongside George himself), the Belfast filmmaker recounts the agony of two men: Ethan (Joaquin Phoenix) lost his son due to Dwight (Mark Ruffalo), a hit-and-run driver. The two female figures of Grace (a splendid Jennifer Connelly) and Ruth (Mira Sorvino) provide context to the difficult inner situation that both characters find themselves living through.
Almost none of what can be defined as a thriller is present in "Reservation Road," while on the contrary, it stands as one of the most successful films on this subject, akin to "The Crossing Guard" by Sean Penn and the recent "Rabbit Hole" by John Cameron Mitchell. A work shrouded in emotions that clash and mingle with each other in a continuous sequence of unsaid words and half-spoken phrases.
The director's greatest merit lies in having managed (albeit with some difficulty) to tell a story that could have easily devolved into the usual melodramatic saga full of tears and lacking substance. George centers the film precisely on the inner conflict of the two men (both well portrayed by Phoenix and Ruffalo): the first destroyed by the loss of his young son, the second equally shattered by guilt and remorse, yet incapable of taking the definitive step towards acknowledging his guilt. On these tracks, "Reservation Road" advances towards its conclusion, posing further questions and once again underlining the prevailing thought in post-9/11 United States: the awareness of the failure of justice prompts individuals to seek personal revenge because they are convinced that those responsible lack the power or willingness to complete their work. Hence, the clash arises.
From a story of suffering and born of our times, Terry George casts a glance at the past. He investigates the current perception of pain by the "normal man" in America. He does this with precision and skill, ultimately succeeding in delivering messages. Recommended.
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