Jennifer Connelly stars in Reservation Road as a grief stricken mother dealing with the loss of her son who was killed in a hit and run accident.

A mother herself of two children, Kai and Stellan, she was surprised by her decision to take the role because it was tapping into emotions that were very close to home.

“I didn’t hesitate and then I got a little few days into it and I thought, ‘wow this was an interesting choice for me,’ as a mother to work on a movie like this. How am I gonna do it? It was a little bit confusing ultimately to work on and to know where to work from.”

Jennifer read grief case studies, the book Grief, Death and Dying and numerous handbooks on how to survive loss. She also visited several chat rooms but felt like she was trespassing on sacred feelings. She says she unconsciously distanced herself from relying on her own children to drum up feelings of loss.

"And I never consciously relied on my relationship with my children to motivate me in a scene because especially in a movie like this I was almost superstitious about it. It seemed repugnant as an idea to exploit my feelings for my children in any conscious way.”

Joaquin Phoenix who plays Jennifer’s husband in the film met with families of victims in hit and run accidents and listened to their stories which had a profound impact on his performance. Reservation Road is currently playing in theaters.

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