Reign Over Me

Every now and then, comedians attempt to bridge the gap between drama and comedy. Sometimes this works and sometimes this doesn’t. When it doesn’t, we all try to forget it happened, and move on to the next cookie-cutter comedy they squeeze out. This first happened with Jim Carrey’s attempt at drama in The Majestic. Recently, Will Farrell tried his dice in the comedy-drama Stranger than Fiction. Both of these films met with mild success, but none can compare to the achievement reached in the most recent comedy-to-drama crossover with talented actor Adam Sandler in Reign Over Me.

In Mike Binder’s latest writing-directing feature, we learn about the tragic life of Charlie Fineman (played by Adam Sandler.) The tragic events of 9-11 claim the lives of his wife, and beautiful three daughters. Broken, and mentally shattered, Fineman lives alone in confusion, and denial. His life takes a turn when his college room mate and best friend Alan Johnson (played by Don Cheadle) spots him on the street, and begins their friendship again.

The first thought I had while walking out of the theatre was this: Amazing, just amazing. We as a culture like to express our collective pains through the art of cinema. We like to use it as a catalyst to demonstrate our fears, our pains, our love and desire. Though the story doesn’t focus directly on the events of 9-11, it certainly demonstrates the damage that still exists in the lives of the people it affected. Charlie Fineman is our cinema image of a nation beginning to heal.

And don’t get me wrong, this certainly isn’t a story about a plane crash; quite the contrary, it’s a film about a man whose life was brought to a serious and deadly halt when the only thing in the world that ever mattered to him was taken from him forever. Outside of the fact that Adam Sandler is a comedian, I was absolutely amazed at the skill and professionalism he was able to bring to the screen. If it were proper for me to stand and applaud after, I certainly would have. Coupled with a superb performance by Don Cheadle, the two characters drive a powerful story into a perfect demonstration of pain.

Though the directing wasn’t amazing, and the cinematography was par for most, the film had a wonderful feel to it. It made me care for the characters, both Fineman and Johnson, both dealing with powerful family problems. Sandler struggles to move on from the events of his life, fighting—sometimes violently—to avoid his mother and father in law. Johnson is pit against the pains of being married, and realizing the life he had to give up to make things work. Both characters focus on the one—and might I add, one of the most important aspects of making relationships work—thing: communication.

With a strange, but well selected supporting cast, this film presses the power of friendship, and the ability for the human spirit to endure. Only once does a faint hint of Sandler’s comedy style surface during a particularly funny part of the film; but make no mistake, Sandler brilliantly executes the part with stunning depth and passion. Of all the films that have come out in the last 12 months, I strongly believe that this is one of the most sincere stories to hit the box office. Though, perhaps, we weren’t all affected in the same manner as this character, it helps us to remember that some are still coping with tragedies in our lives, be it related to events 6 years ago, more recent, or decades ago. The power that film has over us all is that it is a channel to express the human condition to us all, and I certainly feel that this film does just that. See it. 8 of 10.