Reign Over Me

Reign Over Me
Image:ReignPoster.jpg Promotional Poster
Directed by	Mike Binder
Produced by	Jack Binder, Michael Rotenberg
Written by	Mike Binder
Starring	Adam Sandler Don Cheadle Jada Pinkett Smith Liv Tyler Donald Sutherland
Music by	Rolfe Kent
Cinematography	Russ Alsobrook
Editing by	Steve Edwards, Jeremy Roush
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	March 23, 2007
Running time	124 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	US $20 million (IMDb estimate)[1]
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Reign Over Me is a 2007 drama film written and directed by Mike Binder. The film stars Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, Saffron Burrows and Mike Binder.

Columbia Pictures is distributing the film, which is rated "R" for "language and some sexual references" by the MPAA and was released on March 23, 2007.

The title of the film comes from the song "Love, Reign o'er Me" by The Who. The song appears on the film's soundtrack along with a cover version recorded specifically for the film by Pearl Jam. Also, the song that plays in the trailer on TV is Ashes by UK band Embrace.

Plot

Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler) has completely shut himself off emotionally from the outside world. During the attacks that occurred on September 11th, he lost his wife and three daughters. By chance, Charlie is reunited with his old college roomate, Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle). Alan, a successful but unhappy dentist, recognizes Charlie's grief and attempts to rekindle their friendship and bring Charlie out of his depression.

Charlie uses noise-cancelling headphones and a disheveled, Dylanesque appearance (poofy hair and an unstylish long jacket) to insulate himself from any contact or reminder of the upper middle-class world where he enjoyed life with his adoring family (a wife; daughters age 5, 7, and 9; and a poodle). He tools around Manhattan on a motorized scooter which he uses for quick getaways from unpleasant encounters. ^[1]

Johnson's situation is the inverse of Charlie's. Charlie gave up dentistry after 9/11, Johnson is the leader of a clinic with 6 dentists. Charlie maintains a dissheveled appearance and hides in his apartment fiddling with his record collection, remodeling his kitchen or behind a drum kit in a seedy club playing rage rock; Johnson's grooming and apparel and demeanor are so attractive that women are constantly hitting on him at work. Charlie apparently only knows three people: his landlord and an accountant named Sugarman (Mike Binder) who enable him to stay isolated, and an exploitative bar owner. Johnson knows many people but is not emotionally close to any of them: he's the stereotypical emotionally unavailable male towards his wife Jeaneane (Jada Pinkett Smith), never listens to his daughter, gets blown off by his receptionist, and his dental partners refuse to back him when a patient named Donna Remar (Saffron Burrows) threatens a bogus sexual harassment lawsuit after he rebuffed her sexual advances in his office.

When Johnson spots Charlie after 5 years of rebuffed contact, it takes him two tries to connect. Johnson is surprised that Charlie doesn't recognize him, and it takes quite a bit of effort to convince him they were once friends. After Johnson is able to convince him, they rekindle a friendship that began in college.

Attempts by Johnson to bring up Charlie's dead family result in outbursts of rage and violence from him. The first time, in the seedy bar where Charlie plays the drums in a band, teetotaler Charlie demands "Who sent you?" and throws root beer in Johnson's face. The second time, he trashes Johnson's dental office. ^[2]

Johnson has been trying inappropriately to get informal psych help from Angela Oakhurst (Liv Tyler), a (young) lady therapist in his office building, describing his own situation in terms of a 'friend'. After fruitless attempts to help Charlie himself or set him up with a middle-aged (male) therapist, Alan gets her to take Charlie on when Charlie agrees that he needs help. Their sessions are short, and Charlie ends them the moment she asks any questions about the "thoughts" he's been avoiding.

Charlie's internal situation is well-described by the movie's main soundtrack choice, Love Reign O'er Me (from the classic The Who album Quadrophenia, with a cover done by Pearl Jam).

Only love can make it rain ...

Love, reign o'er me (reign over me).

The song expresses both rage and despair. In it love is seen as an antidote to dust and heat (cool, cool rain) - and also as a welcome ruling force (reign o'er me).

Torn from the love of his family, Charlie becomes depressed and shuts out all the pain with drumming, collecting old LP's and a PS2 video game Shadow of the Colossus, where he must climb towering heights to destroy enormous monsters as big as skyscrapers called Colossi. ("Monsters" destroyed New York's tallest towers and killed his family). ^[3]

One day he finally opens up to Johnson (overheard by Dr. Oakhurst) and shares about his family. This seems good, but shortly thereafter memories of his family are rushing back into his mind, so he gets intoxicated and unearths a gun from the a pile of boxes. Finding no bullets along with the gun goes into the street finds two cops eating a meal and points his empty gun at a taxi driver in an attempt to catch the cops' attention. He suceedes in drawing them out and points his empty gun at one, hoping to be shot. The cop's partner blindsides Fineman, tackles him, and the two cops slam him against a wall three times. The city decides not to press charges against a "9/11 widower beat up by two cops" but insist on a 3-day psych evaluation. Charlie is released, thanks to Johnson and Angela but must attend a hearing to determine whether or not he will be institutionalized. After Charlie gets thrown out of the courtroom for singing Love Reign O'er Me out loud, the judge (Donald Sutherland) begins to believe that the case is merely just a family dilemma between Charlie and his in-laws (whom Charlie's been avoiding), so the judge gives the power to his in-laws to decide if he should be institutionalized.

After overhearing Donna saying that he just has a broken heart and that the court doesn't understand that, Charlie hesitantly but forthrightly speaks to his in-laws about "seeing" his wife, kids and even the dog in strangers he encounters - which for him are even more vivid reminders than the photos his father-in-law carries in his wallet (and which were used by the prosecutor in the hearing to provoke him into 'crazy' outbursts).

Finally, Johnson conspires with Fineman to help him move out over the weekend (before the final hearing, which never transpires). Johnson meets the in-laws at the empty apartment, which is spotless and has a beautifully remodeled kitchen, and asks them to let Fineman go. They agree. Then Johnson sets up Charlie with Donna, hops on Charlie's scooter, and heads home to his family.

Tagline

• Let in the unexpected.

Cast

Reception

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Reign Over Me currently holds a 64% "Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes. General praise has been awarded to the performances of Sandler and Cheadle, while many flaws in the film have been traced to the screenplay. The film opened in 1,671 theaters with a $4,465 per theater average for the weekend.

Trivia

• Charlie is seen throughout playing the video game Shadow of the Colossus. Co-editor Jeremy Roush explains, "You could see where someone who was dealing with 9/11 would be engrossed by a giant that keeps collapsing over and over again."[2]
• Tom Cruise and Javier Bardem were initially signed on to play Adam Sandler's role and Don Cheadle's role, respectively. When Cruise dropped out, Bardem suggested Sandler for the part for Bardem enjoyed Sandler in Punch-Drunk Love. Then Bardem dropped out of the project, so Cheadle was brought in.
• At first Adam Sandler denied his part because he was terrified of it, although he thought the character was incredible after he read the script. A month later, he reread the script and decided that he wanted to do it.
• Brad Pitt was considered for the role that ultimately went to Adam Sandler.
• Some versions of the trailer for this film include the song "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers.
• The film was shot using the Panavision Genesis camera system and edited using Apple Inc.'s Final Cut Pro software.
• Some TV spots for the film feature the song "Ashes" by UK band Embrace.
• The girl Charlie falls for is named Donna, the same name is Adam's wife in Click.
• Adam Sandler's character plays Shadow of the Colossus on a Sony Playstation 3

See also

• List of films about September 11, 2001

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