Preview: Reservation Road (2007)

• Poster: B-

Review:

My only Reservation about the poster is how Jennifer Connelly got face time and Mira Sorvino got none. Neither seems to play a central role in the film dominated by Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo, but there she is mugging it up on an otherwise visually stimulating poster.

• Trailer: B

Review:

I also have reservations about the film. Visually, it's very comparative to The House of Sand and Fog and A Beautiful Mind. However, the plot's a little more interesting. The problem is Connelly isn't as talented as she thinks she is and Sorvino looks terrible. Phoenix doesn't look half bad, but it's Ruffalo who looks like he might be providing an Oscar-calibre performance.

Oscar Prospects:

Unfortunately for Ruffalo, the film has to be a lot more successful at the Oscars to get a nod. Phoenix can get in on name recognition alone, but even if he gave a superior performance, Ruffalo would have to be swept to a nod by a well-placed Oscar campaign and the film doing remarkably better than I think it might.

Release Date:

• October 19, 2007

Full Review Synopsis:

As I had expected, Connelly and Sorvino aren't worth the star billing, but it's not necessarily due to lack of talent. It's a lack of direction. Ruffalo is indeed the standout and had the film not disappeared early from theaters, he might have been a contender. Phoenix was also as the trailer suggets: decent, but hardly noteworthy.

• Full Review: Reservation Road

-Wesley Lovell (August 25, 2007) Original

-Wesley Lovell (December 8, 2007) Full Review Posted