Theatrical Review of Reign Over Me

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It is perhaps a commentary on our times that the act which sets "Reign Over Me" into motion is never mentioned by name in the two–plus hour film. Charlie Fineman (a wonderfully muted Adam Sandler) lost his wife and daughters on September 11, 2001. There are references to the planes, to September 12th, to people coming from other countries to kill our people…but never to the actual day. And that´s the most glaring flaw in the film: it feeds on our history without ever addressing it.

Charlie and Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle) were college roommates who lost touch after graduation. Many years later, Alan thinks he sees Charlie on a New York City street, only to be ignored. Weeks later, Alan sees him again, pursuing his old friend until they can reconnect. The man he finds doesn´t remember Alan or his family. Instead, Charlie has detached himself from the parts of his life, which are painful, instead focusing on the pleasure. As Charlie lets Alan into his world, Alan´s own family suffers.

"Reign Over Me" is a marginally good film but never reaches the emotional heights it should. The acting is not the problem: Sandler turns in his best performance to date by eschewing the shtick which made him a household name and Cheadle, as always, is a reliable workhorse. The supporting cast, including Jada Pinkett Smith, Donald Sutherland, Liv Tyler and Saffron Burrows add balance to the picture. The problem is, aside from a scene late in the film, the audience doesn´t feel the emotions on the screen the way we should.

There is not enough of a back story for Alan´s parents to make us care when the father dies and Alan misses it for a Mel Brooks marathon. There are no reasons given as to why the other partners in Alan´s dentist office shun him. No story is provided for Alan and Janeane (Pinkett Smith) growing colder toward each other. The audience is supposed to fill in the blanks and create the emotion on their own. Sometimes it works despite itself, but the audience shouldn´t have to do the heavy lifting. That is the job of the filmmaker.

Director Mike Binder, who here also serves as writer and co-star, knows how to frame a shot to evoke a feeling…loneliness or isolation, for example…and it helps the finished product. But he´s not so good at allowing the audience to be part of the film as opposed to onlookers. He purposely keeps Alan and Janeane from touching for the whole of the film. No kisses when they see each other after work or before they go out again; no touching in bed; not even a hug to show support. Actions do indeed speak louder than words, especially in film. Something should be said for the purpose of words, though. They are far cheaper to convey history to an audience and allow your actors to showcase what they can do. After all, there is a reason Sandler and Cheadle were cast and it wasn´t for their rugged good looks.

I mentioned a scene that works despite itself earlier. It comes in Tyler´s, playing a psychiatrist, office. At that precise moment, Charlie lets his guard down enough with Alan to explain what happened on September 11. By now, we´ve already filled in the blanks and created a history for this character, but the chance for Sandler to bare his soul is welcome. This tragedy is something he lives with everyday no matter how far away he gets from 9-11-01. To see Billy Madison all grown up, especially in this sequence, is the gut punch we´ve been waiting for through the rest of the film. Unfortunately is comes far too late in the process. There is certainly an argument for keeping Sandler bottled up until the final stanza (audience emotional investment in the character); there is an even better one for unleashing this scene far earlier (developing audience emotional investment).

We´re not particularly dazzled by Alan and Janeane´s problems, either. Woefully underdeveloped in favor of Charlie reminding Alan to take off his shoes, I wanted far more out of these two characters. Cheadle, one of the most reliable actors in Hollywood, can buoy a film by himself when he´s given something to do. Here, he is reactionary to Charlie, Janeane and his work. Yes, the dissenters will say a reactionary Alan is the point. After all, one of the final scenes we see is Alan telling the other doctors they WILL support him in the future. There´s also a short scene in which Alan tells Janeane he knows he´s been wrong for a long time and he is going to work on their marriage more than ever. It´s all well and good, but since the first reel started, the audience has known they both need to engage the other. It´s taken this long for him to come to the same realization?

There is a subplot with Saffron Burrows in which she accuses Alan of sexual harassment. Frankly, if there was a point, I missed it. Why would Alan or even Angela (Tyler) allow this woman to come within ten feet of Sandler, let alone seemingly setting them up as romantic partners? Is it that Charlie just needs another friend, someone else in his social circle? Why would Alan give her the time of day to apologize for the lawsuit and accusations? It´s not rational in any medical sense for these events to happen. Yet they do.

I would be remiss in not mentioning the courtroom sequence if only because it is one of two times the audience has any emotional response to the action. The state of New York wants Charlie institutionalized; he is fighting it. In order to prove his point, a green prosecutor throws pictures of Charlie´s wife and children on the table in front of him, sending Charlie into extreme fits. As a collective group, the audience wants to call out the prosecutor while pleading for judge Donald Sutherland to administer a slap down. It finally does come, but entirely too late and not nearly public enough. I´m not a lawyer, but I´ve seen enough court room movies to deduce this kind of intentional agitation is objectionable. It´s fascinatingly powerful for the audience, yet also head scratchingly bewildering.

But this is the reality we´re forced into with "Reign Over Me." As much as this film wants to take place in the real world, it exists in its own fantasyland where complex emotional problems six years in the making can be solved in the course of a few months. Charlie´s problem isn´t only his family died or the way his in-laws behave (they insist he does not grieve); this is the only thing people want to talk to him about. They want him to remember and, frankly, he doesn´t want to remember every waking moment for the rest of his life. From what he tells us, he sees all of his girls every day on the street. He doesn´t need the pictures in his wallet or on the wall or to retell stories of the good times; they play in a continuous loop in his head. They don´t understand that.

Despite all its issues, "Reign Over Me" is a powerful vehicle for Sandler. On the scale of 1 to 10, the movie rates a 5.5. There are too many flaws for it to be truly affecting.

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