Phoenix’s grief-stricken father anchored this underrated 2007 drama
One of the most talked about movies of the year is (surprise!) another comic book movie. Joker came out this past weekend along with all the controversy attached to it, which ranged from the glorifying of violence, to the loads of praise it has received for it artistic merits. But this dark exploration into the most iconic of DC villains starring Joaquin Phoenix as the character himself has already become one of the biggest October releases in all of film history. Director Todd Phillips’s take on the character’s deeply unhinged nature is violent, captivating and strangely beautiful to look at, even if it does suffer from a few patchy moments here and there.
In the midst of all the noise, the one point which everyone is more or less in agreement with is how brilliant Phoenix is in the title role. His turn only furthers the actor’s reputation as one of the most complex and dynamic actors to ever make it onto the screen. It doesn’t take more than a few moments of his work in the movie to see that Joker instantly takes its place alongside Gladiator, Walk the Line and The Master as one of Phoenix’s greatest acting achievements. One title which is virtually never included in such a list is the actor’s 2007 effort, Reservation Road. Although it doesn’t contains the dramatic explosiveness of the aforementioned movies, it has one of modern drama’s greatest gifts; a powerhouse Phoenix in top, heartbreaking form.
Based on the novel by John Burnham Schwartz, Reservation Road is the story of two families who find themselves linked through incredibly tragic circumstances. While divorced dad Dwight (Mark Ruffalo) is driving his son Luke (Eddie Alderson) home to his mother Ruth (Mira Sorvino) from a baseball game, happily married couple Ethan and Grace Lerner (Phoenix and Jennifer Connelly) and their children Emma (Elle Fanning) and Josh (Sean Curley) are headed home after a fun family outing. When Dwight leans over to check on his sleeping son, he temporarily loses control of the car and hits young Josh, killing him. Immediately he speeds off as Ethan hurries towards his son. Just as quickly as the accident has taken place, both men and their families find themselves plunged into an emotional hell which will lead to an inevitable conclusion.
Films like Reservation Road have been so trivialized and dismissed by modern movie audiences as being little more than weepy dramas which have been more or less relegated to cable by the late 2000s. Yet Schwartz and director Terry George both avoid ever letting their movie fall into this trap. It’s usually a plus when an author is invited to adapt his own novel for the screen, as was the case here. Schwartz’s love for the characters and careful handling of what happens to all of them is clearly felt in a collection of emotionally heavy scenes which never feel anything but true to life. The result is a film which feels like a true literary drama as every character is given ample time to explore the impasse in his or her life which has resulted from this horrible tragedy. At the same time, there’s an element of Reservation Road which plays out like an expertly made thriller. Not only does Dwight’s growing internal struggle of what he’s done play out with great tension, but there’s also suspense regarding Ethan’s unwavering determination to track down his son’s killer. When the latter innocently ends up retaining the former as legal representation, the suspense is amped up all the more, leading to a pulsating cat-and-mouse chase with both men facing the demons which have taken hold of them.
The two big forces at play throughout Reservation Road prove to be grief and guilt, with the two oftentimes battling it out regarding which is the more powerful. Ethan grapples with grief to an almost maniacal level, chasing down anyone he might feel to be remotely close to the man who struck down his son, totally forgetting the members of his family who are still alive and well. The only thing holding him anywhere close to sanity is Grace who is determined not to lose the only other man in her life as she questions how much fight she’s got left in the midst of her own consuming pain. Dwight meanwhile experiences a level of guilt and overwhelming regret, replaying the one moment which changed his life forever as he tries to fend off the consequences from reaching him and his own son. Both Dwight and Ethan are so completely swallowed up by their emotions that they’ve virtually become transformed by them. While he may be painted as the movie’s heavy by default, Reservation Road never fully puts Dwight into a place where we hate him, choosing instead to watch his guilt become his own undoing as he realizes he’s trapped. If the reason we don’t fully hate Dwight for what he’s done, it’s because we come to know what kind of person he is, beyond that crucial moment; and how he would give anything to go back and change things if he could.
Between the four lead cast members, there are a total of four Oscar nominations and two wins, which every principal shows they’ve earned. Each performer here is gifted with a character whose life has at one time or another been thrown into turmoil, testing their resolve and what it is exactly that they believe in. Connelly and Sorvino are such great emotional pillars, showing the different sides to the image of the suburban wife and mother. The former is especially heartbreaking as she tries to keep herself from becoming a zombie, while the latter exudes a warmth and empathy as a survivor of her past. But it’s Ruffalo and Phoenix who have the trickier assignments in their portrayals of fatherhood and how the film’s events have changed their roles. Ruffalo’s torment at what his character has inadvertantly taken away is brought out by one of the actor’s most raw portrayals ever. Phoenix manages to come across as equally riveting, if not more so, thanks to the dizzying descent into madness and obsession he takes his character to. The concentrated and controlled way in which he handles Ethan’s actions and emotions make for the film’s most hypnotic performance.
Late 2007 was a heavy-hitting time for the kind of dramas aimed at awards glory. Filmmakers as diverse as Robert Redford, Sam Mendes and Paul Thomas Anderson each had their hats in the ring with efforts that drew from the current landscape or tales of the past. It’s no surprise that something like Reservation Road got lost in the shuffle as a result. The film was never meant to bring in the box-office dollars, but couldn’t even manage the kind of arthouse success other films of its kind could. Mixed critical reactions didn’t help much as most of the critics found themselves taken with more high-profile awards-driven titles.
If you’re just the right kind of audience member, Reservation Road is just the sort of film you hope to find, but seldom do. It’s screenplay and pitch perfect execution brilliantly manage to balance two very specific genres without shortchanging either one. Yet it’s the well-written, believable characters and the deep level of human darkness each one travels to which makes it a stellar adaptation of a tremendous novel. If the film’s seemingly straightforward plot feels a little too cliched for some, the striking way it deals with its characters’ handling of the turmoil they find themselves in is nothing short of involving. At its core, Reservation Road is a film about two families held captive by their inescapable (and very different) emotions. The beauty of a film such as this remains the kind of universality it manages to retain, making it a special and enriching kind of cinematic experience with the power to continuously resonate and compel at every turn.