I paid a buck to see this film. Yep, Denzel Washington did not have a spectacular part. I will recommend this film for it's great message. Denzel Washington does well in portraying the helplessness that must often be felt by people who are wronged and have to wait for justice to be done. Perhaps they feel justice does not get done. The tragedy and heartache suffered by the offended and by the offending persons in this film is well portrayed. Don't buy it, rent it for $1.04 like I did. (Is that ten lines yet?) Nope, it wouldn't let me go. So I'll repeat some things for emphasis. I paid a buck to see this film. Yep, Denzel Washington did not have a spectacular part. I will recommend this film for it's great message. Denzel Washington does well in portraying the helplessness that must often be felt by people who are wronged and have to wait for justice to be done. Perhaps they feel justice does not get done. The tragedy and heartache suffered by the offended and by the offending persons in this film is well portrayed. Don't buy it, rent it for $1.04 like I did.

This film should be remembered for a lot more than Denzels presence. It was made to shock and it does. It makes one consider how easy it is to lose ones perspective on the road. The fact that the drunk driver had no conscious cognition of the level of his own responsibility until it was forced upon him is deep food for thought for everyone. The sad scene of someone asking the mother of the dead girl how she is doing in school is the sort of thing that can happen all to easily in a tragedy. This is the kind of thing one should view soberly and with thought. It needs to run more often for the good of society. Also the performance level is of a very high quality in a difficult and emotional script.

Though Denzel Washington is used to promote this movie, it's not really a Denzel vehicle -- he doesn't show up until halfway through the movie, and during the second half of the movie, his appearances are staccato and brief. In other words, he's not the star.The main characters are the members of the Peterson family -- father John (Farentino), mother Judith (Fuller), and younger daughter Amy (Meyers) -- each of whom struggles with his or her grief when the elder daughter of the family, Lynne (Vigard), is killed by a drunk driver. The family drifts apart as John obsesses over getting the guilty driver convicted of manslaughter; Judith sinks into helpless depression; and Amy is left lonely and afraid, her world suddenly upside-down.Denzel comes into the picture as the extremely overworked but nevertheless competent public prosecutor Martin Sawyer, who is assigned the case against the driver charged with Lynne's death.It's not a spectacular movie -- it has its maudlin moments, its result is predictable, and there are times you'll want to kick some of the characters for their obstinacy -- but as I say, it's a product of its time, and there are worse ways of spending an hour and a half. The message is a little heavy-handed, but it remains a valid one, however dated the movie itself may be (check out Denzel's glasses!).

DUI, Driving Under the Influence and killing someone is MURDER!!! Premeditated MURDER! This film portrays the choices we make when we make the decision to drink and drive; and it does it well. ANYONE that has EVER had a drink, and then driven a motor vehicle should watch this film.