Plot: 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 tragedy, both fathers react in unexpected ways, as do Grace and Emma. As a reckoning looms, the two fathers are forced to make the hardest choices of their lives.
Alternative Plot: The fates of two men and their families converge following a tragic accident. Ethan Lerner (Joaquin Phoenix) and his family are on the way home from their son's cello recital. The same evening, law associate Dwight Arno (Mark Ruffalo) and his son are returning from a ballgame. In a flash, the unthinkable happens, and Ethan's son dies beneath the wheels of Dwight's car. Dwight speeds away, and Ethan, as the only witness to the tragedy, begins his quest for justice.
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