Scan and Pan
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Reign Over Me
Alan (Don Cheadle) is a successful Manhattan dentist who's married to a controlling woman (Jada Pinkett Smith) and has two children. One day, he sees his old college roommate Charlie (Adam Sandler), who went from being a dentist to a broken wreck of a man after his wife and children died on 9/11. Despite his own family problems and having to deal with an obsessed patient (Saffron Burrows), Alan is determined to help Charlie put his life back together.
Writer/director Mike Binder (The Sex Monster, Man About Town) creates a film that's both a serious drama and a wry look at relationships. The core of the film is the friendship between Alan and Charlie, and the film is strongest when it focuses on it, but it gets sidetracked at times with underdeveloped subplots. The third act also drags a bit, unnecessarily stretching the film into slightly over two hours of running time. However, it doesn't end on a stereotypical Hollywood happy ending where everything is neatly resolved, which is a mark in its favor, but instead has a hopeful ending. All in all, there's more good things than bad things to say about it.
Russ T. Alsobrook (Romy and Michele: In the Beginning, Man About Town) contributes solid but unspectacular cinematography using the Panavision Genesis digital video camera (previously used most notably for Superman Returns), which again provides a solidly cinematic look. The use of songs by The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Graham Nash, Pearl Jam, and others works well for exploring Charlie's inner life.
I never thought I'd praise Adam Sandler's acting, but he delivers a vivid performance as Charlie, a man who's suffered so much that he stops feeling anything and retreats into a childlike state. Sandler deftly moves from humorously eccentric to emotionally raw, and makes us care about his character. He also bears an uncanny resemblance to Bob Dylan. Don Cheadle is equally good as Alan, demonstrating good comic timing and strong rapport with Sandler in the dramatic scenes. Just as their characters are the core of the story, their performances are the core of the film.
Jada Pinkett Smith has some good scenes as Alan's wife, although she's under-used. Saffron Burrows is funny as the patient who's obsessed with Alan, while Liv Tyler makes a sympathetic psychiatrist. Other good performances come from Robert Klein and Melinda Dillon as Charlie's parents-in-law, Donald Sutherland as a judge who has to rule on Charlie's sanity, director Binder as Charlie's financial manager and former best friend, Rae Allen as the manager of the apartment building Charlie lives in, John de Lancie as a therapist Alan tries to get Charlie to see, Paula Newsome as Alan's receptionist, and Ted Raimi as Charlie's attorney.
Although it drags at times and is a bit long, the performances and the friendship between the two men help make Reign Over Me a good film. Recommended.
[4 out of 5 stars.]
This drama with touches of comedy boasts some good performances and is a satisfying film about friendship.
Alan (Don Cheadle) is a successful Manhattan dentist who's married to a controlling woman (Jada Pinkett Smith) and has two children. One day, he sees his old college roommate Charlie (Adam Sandler), who went from being a dentist to a broken wreck of a man after his wife and children died on 9/11. Despite his own family problems and having to deal with an obsessed patient (Saffron Burrows), Alan is determined to help Charlie put his life back together.
Writer/director Mike Binder (The Sex Monster, Man About Town) creates a film that's both a serious drama and a wry look at relationships. The core of the film is the friendship between Alan and Charlie, and the film is strongest when it focuses on it, but it gets sidetracked at times with underdeveloped subplots. The third act also drags a bit, unnecessarily stretching the film into slightly over two hours of running time. However, it doesn't end on a stereotypical Hollywood happy ending where everything is neatly resolved, which is a mark in its favor, but instead has a hopeful ending. All in all, there's more good things than bad things to say about it.
Russ T. Alsobrook (Romy and Michele: In the Beginning, Man About Town) contributes solid but unspectacular cinematography using the Panavision Genesis digital video camera (previously used most notably for Superman Returns), which again provides a solidly cinematic look. The use of songs by The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Graham Nash, Pearl Jam, and others works well for exploring Charlie's inner life.
I never thought I'd praise Adam Sandler's acting, but he delivers a vivid performance as Charlie, a man who's suffered so much that he stops feeling anything and retreats into a childlike state. Sandler deftly moves from humorously eccentric to emotionally raw, and makes us care about his character. He also bears an uncanny resemblance to Bob Dylan. Don Cheadle is equally good as Alan, demonstrating good comic timing and strong rapport with Sandler in the dramatic scenes. Just as their characters are the core of the story, their performances are the core of the film.
Jada Pinkett Smith has some good scenes as Alan's wife, although she's under-used. Saffron Burrows is funny as the patient who's obsessed with Alan, while Liv Tyler makes a sympathetic psychiatrist. Other good performances come from Robert Klein and Melinda Dillon as Charlie's parents-in-law, Donald Sutherland as a judge who has to rule on Charlie's sanity, director Binder as Charlie's financial manager and former best friend, Rae Allen as the manager of the apartment building Charlie lives in, John de Lancie as a therapist Alan tries to get Charlie to see, Paula Newsome as Alan's receptionist, and Ted Raimi as Charlie's attorney.
Although it drags at times and is a bit long, the performances and the friendship between the two men help make Reign Over Me a good film. Recommended.
[4 out of 5 stars.]
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