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Reign Over Me
Directed by: Mike Binder
Starring: Don Cheadle
Genre:
Drama/Comedy
Run Time: 124 min.
Release Date:
March 2007
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
REIGN OVER ME is a
powerful drama with a few liberal portions of comedy mixed throughout.
It is also Adam Sandler’s most powerful and upstanding performance to
date.
Many movie watchers have probably seen plenty of the post-911 movies
that’ve come out in recent years:
WORLD TRADE CENTER and UNITED 93
being the most notable. But what most movie-goers haven’t seen is the
long-term after-affects of that day on the lives of those left behind.
Film studios wanted to show the special effect, the gore, or the panic
of the day. But if we take our heads out of the clouds (and off of those
collapsed structures) and focus them on the heads of those who lost
everything, the glimpse is much more personal, much more gripping.
I wasn’t expecting much when I heard that Adam Sandler (CLICK) had taken
one of the lead roles. He’s known more as a Saturday Night Live goofball
and comedic talent. And although there are funny moments in Reign Over
Me, none of them really fall in Sandler’s normally outlandish
comfort-zone.
Sandler plays John Dillon lookalike Charlie Fineman, a man who lost his
entire family on one of the planes that struck the Twin Towers. Years
have passed and he suffers from the worst case of Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder you could imagine. Wandering around on his gas-powered
skateboard, he acknowledges no one, living a secluded life both
externally and internally. Until...
Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle, CRASH) went to college with Charlie, both of
them at that time studying to become dentists. They’d grown apart, even
though they were roommates, but now Alan spots Charlie on the street and
sparks up a strange conversation with him. Charlie doesn’t seem to
remember him, but later comes to accept that he and Alan were indeed
friends at some point. The two form an unusual bond based on
communication problems. Charlie can’t communicate for fear of ripping
his heart out, and Alan can but won’t for fear of losing his
individuality to his wife (Jada Pinkett Smith).
Clashes and questions build as the two men get closer and closer. Unable
to break through to Charlie, Alan eventually employees the services of a
pretty young psychiatrist named Angela Oakhurst (Liv Tyler,
THE LORD OF
THE RINGS). But even she can’t seem to puncture the bubble that Charlie
has built up around the loss of his family.
Meanwhile, Alan is battling the sexual advances of a dental patient
named Donna Remar (Saffron Burrows,
FAY GRIMM), his lack of
communication skills with his wife, and his grumpy receptionist (played
by Paula Newsome,
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE). Amazingly, Alan’s relationship
with Charlie helps him deal with all of these issues while at the same
time helping Charlie regain some composure to his life.
Sandler’s portrayal of a mentally unstable post-911 survivor is quite
good. His methods of avoidance are psychiatrically accurate, including
listening to loud music, not finishing projects, rocking back-and-forth
during times of increasing stress, and collecting inane object (like
vinyl records of bad bands). But Cheadle is the real star here. His
desperate need to help Charlie (and thus himself) are so simply pulled
off the viewing audience will hardly notice the subtle changes that
occur within him.
Although there are some trite lines (“I have no one. At least you two
have each other.”), the story itself is engrossing and well thought-out.
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Image from Reign Over Me
DVD cost: $14.99
Purchase:
Tower.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
The Playstation 2 game
‘God of War’ is seen beside Charlie’s projector. The game is about a man
who seeks revenge on the god of war for tricking him into slaughtering
his wife and daughter.
Movie Quote: "I
was stuck in Charlie-world. I couldn't leave."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Reign Over Me
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