Arty Movies Take a Little Longer to Arrive Here

I saw Reservation Road (not Revolution Road, which I keep wanting to call it and probably won't arrive until November, or Redemption Road, which also keeps slipping out of my mouth) last night, and I'm not sure I've ever seen a less uplifting tale. Worse still, it was pointlessly dispiriting. What am I to take from that movie, other than the not exactly newsworthy realization that losing a child is a heart-wrenching experience? If you're going to ask me to sit through two hours of tears and anguish, there darn well better be a payoff at some point, a grand insight into the human condition, a new way of interpreting tragedy, a life-affirming finale--something, anything. I got none of that from Reservation Road.

On the plus side, the acting was fantastic.

But back to the downside, this was perhaps the most forced exchange I've ever heard:

Grace Learner: Mrs. Wheldon was wondering if you'd like to play in the school concert. Maybe practice with her after school. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do.
Emma Learner: Can you hear music if you're in Heaven?
Grace Learner: [pauses] Yes.
Emma Learner: Okay, then. I'll do it.