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“Reign Over Me”
3 Art Entertainment
March 23, 2007
1/2
“Reign Over Me” is a dramatic, character-driven film written and directed by Mike Binder and featuring Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler. Cheadle’s character, Alan Johnson, is a dentist with his own practice, a wife, a daughter and a nice home – a seemingly ideal life. When Sandler’s character, Charlie Fineman, is introduced, he is a shaken, distant shell of the man that Alan roomed with in college – a man still reeling in the aftermath of Sept. 11. What proceeds is Alan’s effort to rekindle his friendship with Charlie and delve into the man’s traumatic history in an attempt to help.
While the film drags a bit at some points, the scenes with Cheadle and Sandler together are gold. They’re very enjoyable, sometimes humorous and later, absolutely heart-wrenching. “Reign Over Me” is likely the most mature performance of Adam Sandler’s career. He had the audience around me swimming in tears and literally sobbing with his stunningly emotional performance.
The supporting cast is minimal, but good. Jada Pinkett Smith is borderline annoying as Alan’s wife, but she is nicely balanced by the beautiful Liv Tyler’s character – a therapist who practices in the same complex as Alan and later serves an important role.
The film repeatedly showcases the Playstation 2 game “Shadows of The Collosus” as well as Bruce Springsteen’s album “The River.” It is amusing how unabashedly the movie references these pieces of pop culture, as well as Charlie’s trusty iPod – his escape from the world – throughout.
The way Charlie and Alan work together to overcome the difficulties in each other’s lives plays out in a fashion that makes “Reign Over Me” an entertaining, powerful film. This film is for Adam Sandler what “The Pursuit of Happyness” was for Will Smith – not necessarily better, but reminiscent in terms of serious acting with a more somber tone.
Bangor Daily News