Reign Over Me

Yesterday it was snowing, hailing, raining and all and all miserable.  A small amount of snow was layered over ice.  I went up in the chairlift and then turned around and downloaded.  What can I say?  Fair weather skier, absolutely.

We all opted for the day off.  Little R & R and a late afternoon movie.  Down in to town to see Reign Over Me.

I have always been a fan of Adam Sandler.  He is an extremely talented individual who seems to stick to business which I like.  You don’t read about him on Page 6 or anywhere for that matter. 

Reign Over Me is the first movie I was willing to see about post 9/11.  Adam Sandler plays a man who lost his entire family that day.  His dental college roommate, played by Don Cheadle bumps into him and strikes up a relationship with him again.   The rekindled relationship seems to help Sandler’s character, who is a mess, finally begin to heal after four years of suffering. 

I give Adam Sandler a huge round of applause for pushing the envelope and playing a character that is different from the norm.  He was really good.  The movie is slow at times, funny at others, and sad too.  I sobbed through a good portion of the film.  But at the end of the day, I really liked it.

As more and more people are attempting to do something about 9/11, this particular film showed the human pain and suffering not the political, not too big of a picture but the thing that everyone felt.  Sadness.   

We don’t read that much about the families that lost loved ones on that tragic day.  My guess is some have moved on and started on a new path while others are still suffering so much that they just can’t move on.  Everybody reacts different to tragedy. 

That is what I liked about this film.  Sandler’s character was so heartbroken he just couldn’t move on yet his in-laws grieved in a completely different way.

Reign Over Me is about the human spirit more than anything else.  Bring tissues. 

Comments (Archived):

  1. Andrew

    If Reign on Me is the first movie about post 9/11 you have seen, then I HIGHLY recommend you see Spike Lee’s 25th Hour with Edward Norton. Excellent movie set in the tone of post 9/11 and the loss of innocence. When 25th Hour first came out, it was definitely too soon, but in retrospect it’s a powerful and entertaining movie.