Many films these days, especially revenge films, have hearkened on the themes of violence and the aftermath of immense violence based on impulse. The strictly by the numbers “Reservation Road” is a film that’s nothing above the norm of films that revolve around tragedy, but it also sports the inclusion of the sheer futility of acting upon revenge, and the empty rewards it can bring to its characters. Revenge movies have often shown revenge as a bloody but often stylish act of behavior, but films in the last six years have thrown the cloak down and explored the sheer repercussions of revenge, and the impulse that leaves nothing but unstoppable violence and punishment in its wake. Perhaps it’s the current political climate, or perhaps it’s our revenge obsessed culture that has sought out all sorts of revenge in different forms after 9/11, but I really like to think that revenge films have been demystified to the point that neither the villains nor the heroes win in the end. And speaking as a fan of revenge films, that’s not a bad thing.

Most particular is the performance by Jennifer Connelly who is just fantastic and gives a pitch perfect portrayal of a mother’s loss and eventual deterioration in a cynical and merciless individual, all the while Joaquin Phoenix is strong as Ethan who of course becomes obsessed with finding the killer of his son, and can not live with the fact that the suspect may never be found. Mark Ruffalo is competent as the suspect Dwight whose entire life is ruined once he commits a hit and run, and struggles to live with the act. Schwartz and George manage to continuously switch roles on our main characters, asking us to look at the despicable acts committed by the two along the run time of the film and then ask us to consider their morality and our own choices in the matter. George’s drama is strictly a routine story, but it manages to rise above the potential doldrums by always leading us down a path of inevitable blood shed and destruction, and always keeps the character of Dwight on the brink of completely losing all sense of sanity and logic. The final act is left slightly ambiguous but closes up with an interesting look at guilt, and how one moment can completely destroy everyone in its path.

What strictly keeps “Reservation Road” from achieving pure excellence is the film’s inherent inability to basically draw an enormous amount of sympathy and grief from the audience. George attracts considerably great performances, but the punch of losing a child is never fully developed to where it can feel like a continuous knot on the audience’s stomachs. Instead we’re left with an obvious opening, dull foreshadowing, predictable set-ups, and a tragedy that’s broadcasted mere minutes into the film. Once that predictability comes into the story, all sense of surprise and or sadness is lost as George runs our narrative and characters down a copious amount of clichés, obvious twists, and a climax that’s fascinating, sure, but ultimately completely incomplete and broadly drawn on the notion of the aftermath the film purports to detail in the wake of this brutal murder.

While George pretends to want to pull us in and reveal all the punishment of a child’s death on a couple, he then completely pulls back and leaves us with many questions, and a melodramatic resolution. There are also the coincidences that are much too convenient to even buy. George interconnects every single character to attempt to tighten the noose on the character of Dwight, but instead he concocts an eye roll inducing series of events that introduce themselves in the most evident and awfully clunky manners. And once that continues, the story delves into even more formula and humdrum plot twists, to where it basically pulls you out of its web.

On the first half hour, “Reservation Road” shows real promise, but beyond it, George’s thriller reveals itself to be nothing more than a by the numbers melodrama that’s only saved by the excellent performances and often fascinating story.

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