Reservation Road

Synopsis: On a warm September evening, college professor Ethan Learner, his wife Grace, and their daughter Emma are attending a recital. Their 10-year-old son Josh is playing cello - beautifully, as usual. His younger sister looks up to him, and his parents are proud of their son. On the way home, they all stop at a gas station on Reservation Road. There, in one terrible instant, he is taken from them forever. On a warm September evening, law associate Dwight Arno and his 11-year-old son Lucas are attending a baseball game. Their favorite team, the Red Sox, is playing - and, hopefully, heading for the World Series. Dwight cherishes his time spent with Lucas. Driving his son back to his ex-wife, Lucas' mother Ruth Wheldon, Dwight heads towards his fateful encounter at Reservation Road. The accident happens so fast that Lucas is all but unaware, while Ethan - the only witness - is all too aware, as a panicked Dwight speeds away. The police are called, and an investigation begins. Haunted by the tr
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Director(s): Terry George
Production: Focus Features
  1 win & 2 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.7
Metacritic:
46
Rotten Tomatoes:
37%
R
Year:
2007
102 min
Website
135 Views


Come on!

Let's go.

Hey, Josh!

Hey, Josh! Hey!

Wasn't he great?

Let's go Red Sox, let's go!

Come on.

Let's go!

Let's go!

Come on, Mom,

it's almost over.

She wants to talk to you.

Ruth, the game's just going

a little long.

No, we're gonna...

We're gonna...

You look good.

We're going to be heading

out of here as soon

Ruth,

I'll get him home.

Okay, a super-heroic run

and a super-heroic throw!

Oh! Super-heroic!

Oh, yeah!

Go!

What are you doing!

Hey, Dad, can I

change the station?

Man, your mom

is gonna kill me.

Hey, Mommy! Mommy!

Look what Josh got me!

- What is it?

- Fireflies.

Okay, sure. It was nice

to meet you. Bye.

Bye.

- You were excellent!

- Thanks, Mom.

Beautiful.

Look, I got fireflies.

- Did you get nervous?

- Oh, look at that.

- A little bit.

- Did you?

I may not have

your musical talent,

In the shower,

I do all right,

No. That's a very bad

mental image.

Can I keep them at home?

What's that?

The fireflies?

I don't think so, sweetie.

They might die.

Will they die in the jar?

No, sweetheart.

We just can't keep them

We'll let them go

when we get home,

We'll let them go.

Here.

- Mommy?

- Yeah?

I need to pee.

Emma, why didn't you go

when we stopped for pizza?

I didn't have to go then.

That's all right.

I got to get

Okay, honey,

we'll stop.

Quick!

Emma, wait.

You sell wiper fluid?

Yeah, check the shelf.

Sh*t.

No! No! Oh, sh*t!

Josh!

Oh, God!

- Hey!

- Lou!

Josh! Josh!

Oh, Dad!

Oh, God! Oh!

Oh, baby!

Wait! Stop! Wait! Wait!

We're okay.

My eye!

It's okay, baby.

What happened?

Nothing, we hit a log.

You're gonna be all right.

Please don't cry.

Come on!

Come on, baby, breathe!

Breathe. Come on.

Where's Josh?

- Josh?

- Grace!

Oh, my God!

No! No, get back!

Get her in the car!

Daddy, what's wrong?

Oh, come back to me.

Get in the car!

Please, please, baby,

come on. Come on.

Oh!

Dad, my eye! My eye!

I know, I know.

Wait here,

I'll be back.

It really hurts.

Hi, how much for these?

$1.50.

Here.

Put these on your eye.

Peas! Are you serious?

Put them on your eye!

No, I'm not putting

cold peas on my eye!

Put them on your eye, Lou.

Don't give me a hard time!

Mr. Learner, our sergeant

would like a word, please.

Are they putting him

in the ambulance?

Is he going to be all right?

Momma?

Huh?

Is he gonna be okay?

Your daddy's with him.

Mr. Learner? The vehicle

that struck your son

was traveling

from that direction,

Sir? Can you describe

the vehicle for me?

Um... It was a truck

or an SUV.

Okay.

Did you happen

to recognize the make

It was dark blue.

What about the driver, sir?

Could you describe the driver?

I don't know.

He had a hat on,

or something was obscured...

Like a ball cap?

I don't know.

That's all right, sir.

Okay, Mr. Learner.

We can continue this

tomorrow. All right?

I'll get one of my guys

to drive you home.

Wait, what about my son?

I don't want

to leave him.

Sir, it's a crime scene,

okay? I'll...

I'll be here on your behalf,

sir. I'll stay with your boy

See to it that he's treated

with the utmost respect.

You have a wife

and a little girI, sir.

It's important

that you go home now

Is she okay?

Where are we going?

We have to go home.

We're going home?

No...

We're going home?

Please don't cry.

Norris, they're here!

Where have you been?

Calm down, Ruth.

Oh, my God!

Come here, sweetheart.

What happened to you?

Oh, my God, Lucas!

Sweetheart, let me see that.

How did you do this?

There was a log in the road

and we came around a bend

and we hit the log

and then his head

Why wasn't he wearing

his seatbelt?

- He was wearing his seatbelt.

- Sorry, Mom.

I took it off

to change the radio station.

I didn't know he took it off. I

would've told him to put it back on.

Oh, sweetheart, let me see.

Can you open your eye?

- No, it hurts.

- Oh.

Look at his eye,

Norris.

- Let me see that.

- Look,

Oh, my God!

What happened?

So where were you?

We were at a game,

the game ran late!

You know, one month

you have him for visitation,

just one month, and you

bring him home like this!

Every time

I cut you some slack,

You cut me some slack?

You're calling me

every time I take him

out of the house!

All right!

Give me a goddamn break!

You don't want anymore

bother from me? Okay!

Everybody take a step back.

Christ!

You have no idea

Let's get that

cleaned up.

Hey, Lou, you okay?

Yeah, Dad.

I'll see you

Yeah.

Can you get the door?

It's okay, honey,

we're home now.

WOInformation.

What state, please?

Connecticut.

What listing?

A police station in

Windham Harbor, please.

One moment, please.

I need you to be

a brave girI for me, Emma.

Josh isn't coming home.

He's not coming home?

Never?

He's with the angels now.

Where's Mommy?

No, come here.

Mommy!

Mommy! Where's Mommy?

It's sunny in Windham Harbor.

Temperature-wise,

up to 72 degrees.

Winds from the northeast

of eight miles per hour.

Clear skies

for the rest of the day.

Tonight, expect a low

in the mid-50's, with clear

It's 7.00 a.m.

Now for the local news.

Connecticut state troopers

are investigating a fatal accident...

on Reservation Road

outside Windham Harbor last night.

The victim

was a 10-year-old boy.

State Police are anxious

to talk to the driver...

And they appeal to anyone

who may have been...

between 8.45 and 9.15 p.m.

Where are you going?

I have to see the police

and pick up the car.

Can't they bring it here?

I need to talk

to them anyways.

Your mom should be here soon.

Don't be long.

I won't.

I love you.

Thank you.

All right,

get the other side. Ready?

Did you catch him?

No, sir,

not yet, I'm afraid.

'Cause I saw

an SUV out there.

There. Right, there,

up on that truck.

Oh, no. That's been there

since Saturday.

Right here, sir.

Right there on that

chair right there.

But is that the make, though?

Well, yeah. I mean,

dark, same shape.

Keep the change.

Hey.

Hey, Dwight.

Dwight.

Yeah?

Yeah, were you in court

this morning?

No, the transmission went

on the Explorer,

so I spent the morning

dealing with that.

How'd it go this weekend?

This weekend?

It was okay.

- Hey, Donna.

- Hey, Dwight.

Yeah, why?

Ruth called.

Said you were late,

you were belligerent,

and that you dropped Lucas off

with a black eye.

Did she happen to tell you

that we were at the game

so we were rushing home

and that's when

so poor Lucas

hit his eye

I mean... And then...

So we show up at her place,

and she's having

some kind of a sh*t fit.

Look, buddy,

you can't get into

If she drags you in front of

a judge again, you're screwed.

You're right.

Nora Fannelli's

in the waiting room.

F***.

Hi, Nora, how are you?

Bored. I have been waiting

for 40 minutes.

Yeah, sorry.

I had some trouble

You look good.

Have you lost some weight?

Except for the color,

they're all so similar.

It just happened so fast.

That's okay, sir,

take your time.

I'm sure

it will come back to you.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

John Burnham Schwartz

John Burnham Schwartz (born 1965) is an American novelist and screenwriter. Schwartz is best known for his novels Reservation Road (1998) and The Commoner (2008). His fifth novel, Northwest Corner, a sequel to Reservation Road, was published in 2011. more…

All John Burnham Schwartz scripts | John Burnham Schwartz Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Reservation Road" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Nov. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/reservation_road_16803>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    Reservation Road

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.


    Quiz

    Are you a screenwriting master?

    »
    What is the typical length of a feature film screenplay?
    A 90-120 pages
    B 200-250 pages
    C 30-60 pages
    D 150-180 pages