NICOLE ALBERTSON
Staff Writer
Old friends reunite in the heartwarming and inspirational drama “Reign Over Me” when Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler rekindle a college friendship and help each other truly experience life. “Reign” gives an insight into male bonding that reaches beyond playing video games and watching football, instead delving into the meaning behind love and loss.
Charlie Fineman (Sandler) lost his family in one of the plane crashes on Sept. 11. As a result, he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). By all standards, Charlie no longer participates in a normal life. He quit his job as a successful dentist, shut himself off from family and friends and spends his time alone wandering the streets of New York City. After a chance encounter, his former college roommate Alan Johnson (Cheadle) enters Charlie’s life and begins a journey aiding in Charlie’s recovery and his own self discovery.
Sandler comes alive as the innocent yet desperate Charlie. Taking on a dramatic role, Sandler controls the screen and demands the character’s unwanted attention. Able to balance the comedic timing and emotional outbursts, Sandler is proving his talent beyond bathroom comedies like “Grandma’s Boy” and “Happy Gilmore.” Playing Charlie is more than a physical transformation, which is evident in Sandler’s longer, grey hair. Sandler embraces Charlie’s vulnerability and sensitivity as an emotional character.
But his talent and transformation aside, Sandler’s movie past makes it hard to accept him as a wounded man suffering from his family’s death. The voice that often yelled obscenities at golfers in “Happy Gilmore” or channeled the devil’s son in “Little Nicky,” steals some attention from Charlie’s weak character.
Cheadle, a past Academy Award nominee, portrays a man with the perfect life, complete with a well-paying job, a beautiful wife and a loving family, but he still struggles with happiness. Cheadle’s outstanding reputation after his performance in the cinematic hit “Hotel Rwanda” remains solid in this film. Cheadle is able to accomplish the difficult task of combining a man’s monotonous life with desperation, anxiety and inspiration. He relates the character with confusion and contradiction to every man and woman looking for something missing in a perfect life.
But the real premise of the film is Alan and Charlie’s friendship. The actors portray this relationship as a little stiff and uncomfortable at the start of the film. However, the characters seem to warm up to each other as they form a strong connection and bond. “Reign’s” unique focus around the male friendship between Cheadle and Sandler sheds light on a complex relationship, shattering the stereotypical image of men grunting at a television screen.
Music plays an important role throughout the movie as songs from the 1970s and early 1980s calm Charlie during his outbursts. Pearl Jam’s “Love Reign O’er Me” is the background theme flowing through the scenes and following the characters through their discoveries.
One thing that did be come apparent was the overwhelming product placement in the film. Sandler carried an iPod close to his heart for sanity and drank Barq’s Root Beer, while Cheadle lounged at Starbucks and downed a few Heinekens at the bars. Unfortunately, the product placement that is usually done under the radar in movies was so frequent and obvious that it became distracting.
For the film, writer, actor and director Mike Binder took advantage of the historic setting in New York City. Turning away from the tourist and staple sights such as the Empire State Building and Ground Zero, Binder uncovered the heart of New York by filming on the back streets in the West Village. He followed Sandler down the late-night empty roads with a mounted camera aimed to bring the audience over each bump and pothole on the streets. The film began as an encompassing journey that the audience would experience along with Sandler.
“Reign Over Me” is an emotional and engrossing drama that will leave audience members in tears and sighing for days. The film reminds Americans of the aftermath caused by the Sept. 11 tragedy, a memory that is slowly slipping away. Sandler’s and Cheadle’s performances open audience’s eyes as they rely on each other for comfort and growth in their own times of need.
03-29-2007