My Single Mom Life

Reservation Road stars Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Connelly and Mira Sorvino.

A powerful human story of anger, revenge and great courage, this film takes you on an intense journey that follows two fathers as their families and lives converge after the events of one fateful night.

The movie starts out introducing us to Ethan (Phoenix) and his wife, (Connelly) and their two kids, after his son performs in a music recital in the park. Then we are introduced to Dwight (Ruffalo) and his son Lucas attending a Red Sox game. As both families make their way home that evening, we flash back and forth between the two families on the screen until they come head to head. Ethan's daughter has to use the restroom so they stop at a gas station, his son gets out of the car to let the fireflies go that he caught earlier. Dwight is speeding, racing to get his son back to his furious ex-wife who called 10 times during the game, and is calling right now. The speed and the ringing cell phone cause Dwight to not pay attention for only a moment, and as he swerves to miss a collision with another car, he strikes and kills Ethan's son. He hesitates, he knows he hit something, but in a moment of panic, he drives off, a hit and run that leaves Ethan's son dead.

The film goes on to show how this accident and death, affects both men.
Ethan is devastated, angry, and wanting justice.
Dwight is afraid, filled with guilt, but terrified of turning himself in for fear of losing all of his custodial rights to his son.

It's a small town, and coincidence after coincidence, the story builds.
Dwight's ex-wife (Sorvino) was the son's music teacher and is now teaching Ethan's daughter piano.
Ethan, eager for justice, fearful the police aren't doing enough, hires a law firm to get private investigators and pursue a civil suit.
The law firm Dwight works at, and Dwight is placed in charge of his case.

As Ethan becomes more and more agitated that the police aren't doing enough to find the hit and run killer, he calls his attorney around the clock.
Ethan only recalls pieces of the accident, his memory is fuzzy, until the night of his daughter's recital a month and a half after the night his son was killed.
Dwight is at the recital too, his son Lucas is in it, and after it's over, he calls to his son which triggers the memory of the accident in Ethan.
The movie is very suspenseful, watching, waiting for either man to make his move.
Hoping Dwight turns himself in, hoping Ethan doesn't destroy his own life for revenge, justice in his mind.

This was an excellent movie, hard to watch in some places because the grief of losing a child is too much to bear, and both Phoenix and Connelly are so honest in their portrayal of grieving parents.
Ruffalo does an amazing job of a man wracked with guilt, you feel incredible pity for him even though you probably shouldn't. You feel as though you understand his reasons for not turning himself in, for not stopping, he suffers incredibly throughout the film wanting to say something but terrified of losing his son forever, a son he loves more than anything, just like Ethan loves his son.
It builds to a very dramatic ending for both men.

I would give it 7 out of 10 stars.