What an absolutely draining experience. As I left the theater, I felt so emotionally spent that I just stood in the theater lobby, not speaking, not thinking, just standing there. I wasn't quite prepared for the ringer the Reign Over Me put me through.
This is not to say it is a perfect film, it has its flaws, but it creates this vivid portrait of two men going through turning points in their lives, and helping each other find what it is they are looking for. The movie also gives us an Adam Sandler that I have never seen before. In short, this is a surprisingly moving, well acted film that is well worth your time.
I have not seen that many films that deal with 9/11. Last year I saw both United 93 and World Trade Center, both were excellent films in different ways. The former took the role of a fly on the wall of the United Airlines flight that went down in Pennsylvania, a moving and difficult to watch film. The latter aimed to restore faith in humanity, focusing on two of the survivors that were found trapped in the collapsed towers. What does this have to do with Reign Over Me? Well, it shows my experience with 9/11 films. To my memory, this is the first entirely fictional film to deal somewhat directly with the event.
The film starts out by introducing us to Allan Johnson (Don Cheadle), a successful dentist, with a lovely family. He is feeling severely overwhelmed trying to balance his family and professional responsibilities, as a result he leads a rather repressed life. One day, on his way home from work, he spies his old college roommate, Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler). He fails to get his attention, but the sighting has lit something that was long missing inside of him. The next time Allan sees Charlie, he does get ahold of him, and a friendship is rekindled. It is an awkward friendship to start, you see, Charlie is in a very dark place cut off from most of reality.
Charlie lost his family on 9/11. His wife, three daughters, and the family dog were all on one of the planes. This event has destroyed Charlie's world. He has withdrawn from society. Unable to cope with the loss, he has buried himself in video games, music, and kitchen remodeling. His renewed friendship with his old college bud begins to bring him back out of his funk.
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