REIGN OVER ME
starring: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith
director: Mike Binder
writer: Mike Binder
date: April 2007
reviewer: Clarkey
rating: 8.0
We all deal with tragedy in different ways. Some of us chose to let it all out, while others bottle it up. Some of us try to laugh our way through the time of despair. In Reign Over Me, Charlie Fineman (played by Adam Sandler) chooses to ignore the monumental personal tragedy that occurred to his family on that fateful September 11, 2001. Instead of dealing with the tragedy, he opts to spend his time secluded from the world, playing video games, playing music and remodeling his kitchen. Whenever he ventures out into the outside world, he almost always has his headphones on and rides his scooter. Sandler’s performance in this film may possibly be his greatest accomplishment to date.
He played a very rattled and fragile character, and he took his ability to the very edge and really worked the role. His character was really interesting. For someone who plays primarily comedy roles, he pulled off a serious role with what seemed to be his own quirks and input. His monologue confession to Cheadle’s character is one of the best ones in years as it is one of the most heart-wrenching bit of dialogue.
As for Don Cheadle, he is his usual brilliant self. He is definitely one of the top actors working today. Liv Tyler and Jada Pinkett Smith were decent in their supporting roles. I have to throw some kudos to B.J. Novak (a.k.a. Ryan from the Office) for playing quite a dick, young hot-shot lawyer in the film.
The direction of Mike Binder was decent, but nothing to write home about. He played it pretty safe and conventional in his choices. The film is not meant to be very stylish; rather, it can be seen as two separate character studies and the relationship that occurs between the two men dealing with different life issues. One is attempting to break free of his boring life, while the other is attempting to deal with a tragedy, but choosing to ignore it. The script, which was also written by Binder, is pretty solid and kudos to him for writing a passionate, drama-filled story with strong, complex characters that gave the actors much to work with. The film does move a bit slow, but it works better that way. The script also adds some good comedy and light-heartiness in between the serious scenes.
The only minor flaw in the film is that it seemed to drag a tad too long. They could have chopped off the last ten minutes or so and beefed up some areas in the middle, especially about Charlie and what actually happened. We essentially only get one monologue of what happened to his wife and three daughters. But besides that, the film was wonderful filled with excellent performances by its two leads and a solid script. If you like friendship films, you need to see this film. If you like great character driven films, you should see it. Bottom line, you should just see the film because it is such a great film.
director: Mike Binder
writer: Mike Binder
date: April 2007
reviewer: Clarkey
rating: 8.0
We all deal with tragedy in different ways. Some of us chose to let it all out, while others bottle it up. Some of us try to laugh our way through the time of despair. In Reign Over Me, Charlie Fineman (played by Adam Sandler) chooses to ignore the monumental personal tragedy that occurred to his family on that fateful September 11, 2001. Instead of dealing with the tragedy, he opts to spend his time secluded from the world, playing video games, playing music and remodeling his kitchen. Whenever he ventures out into the outside world, he almost always has his headphones on and rides his scooter. Sandler’s performance in this film may possibly be his greatest accomplishment to date.
He played a very rattled and fragile character, and he took his ability to the very edge and really worked the role. His character was really interesting. For someone who plays primarily comedy roles, he pulled off a serious role with what seemed to be his own quirks and input. His monologue confession to Cheadle’s character is one of the best ones in years as it is one of the most heart-wrenching bit of dialogue.
As for Don Cheadle, he is his usual brilliant self. He is definitely one of the top actors working today. Liv Tyler and Jada Pinkett Smith were decent in their supporting roles. I have to throw some kudos to B.J. Novak (a.k.a. Ryan from the Office) for playing quite a dick, young hot-shot lawyer in the film.
The direction of Mike Binder was decent, but nothing to write home about. He played it pretty safe and conventional in his choices. The film is not meant to be very stylish; rather, it can be seen as two separate character studies and the relationship that occurs between the two men dealing with different life issues. One is attempting to break free of his boring life, while the other is attempting to deal with a tragedy, but choosing to ignore it. The script, which was also written by Binder, is pretty solid and kudos to him for writing a passionate, drama-filled story with strong, complex characters that gave the actors much to work with. The film does move a bit slow, but it works better that way. The script also adds some good comedy and light-heartiness in between the serious scenes.
The only minor flaw in the film is that it seemed to drag a tad too long. They could have chopped off the last ten minutes or so and beefed up some areas in the middle, especially about Charlie and what actually happened. We essentially only get one monologue of what happened to his wife and three daughters. But besides that, the film was wonderful filled with excellent performances by its two leads and a solid script. If you like friendship films, you need to see this film. If you like great character driven films, you should see it. Bottom line, you should just see the film because it is such a great film.
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