Reservation Road

Joaquin Phoenix. Great actor. The second comment is synonymous with the first. There are many good actors out there today, but few that succeed in nailing every single scene in every single movie quite like Joaquin. His talents are unquestionable, and he's going to win an Oscar soon. I think he'll do it in the next 5 years. With last years incredible Walk The Line, it's no surprise that his next movie looks like it has Best Actor potential.

The movie is called Reservation Road. It stars Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, and Jennifer Connelly, and is directed by Terry George, the same guy that directed Hotel Rwanda. It's set to start shooting in Connecticut in October, will be released in 2007, and the production costs are predicted to be a mere $20 million. It's based on Jonathan Burnham Schwartz's novel of the same name, and Coming Soon has the synopsis:

Two haunted men and their families are engulfed by the emotions surrounding an unexpected and horrendous death. Ethan, a respected professor of literature at a small New England college, is wracked by an obsession with revenge that threatens to tear his family apart. Dwight, a man at once fleeing his crime and hoping to get caught, wrestles with overwhelming guilt and his sense of obligation to his son. As these two men's lives unravel, Reservation Road moves to its startling conclusion.

This sounds like a really interesting plot. The two actors play fathers on the opposite sides of a hit-and-run: Ruffalo's character kills Joaquin's character's son and then flees. This movie is ripe for Joaquin's acting, but we've never seen Mark Ruffalo in a role like this. He's always played in rom-coms, emotional, sure, but nothing like this. I'm interested to see how he does, and oddly enough, I'm confident he will be good. I have a sneaking suspicion that he will be really good. Not sure why, I can just see him as this guy, and I think he's a good fit.

The power in this movie can be intense if they do it right, and coming from the guy who did Hotel Rwanda, I'm positive it will be powerful. There is so much room for intense emotion in this story, and with this cast, you might want to pack some tissues when you go. I can imagine that this is a pretty amazing book; I'm thinking about going out today and getting it actually.

Now, with a $20 million budget, not much can be done in terms of production, but other than the car crash, I don't see anything that would take any real money. If they can get away with a $20 million budget, and this movie turns out as good as it sounds, it will make tons of money. You, Me, and Dupree made $23 million in it's first weekend, and that was when Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was making all its money, so imagine what this movie could do, especially if it's released around Oscar season. Hopefully it will be as good as I hope, and we may see Joaquin get that Oscar yet.