Reign Over Me

Director: Mike Binder
Starring: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows, Donald Sutherland, Robert Klein, Melinda Dillon, Mike Binder
Running Time: 124 min.
Rating: R

***1/2 (out of ****)

For 124 minutes unpleasant memories of Click and Little Nicky disappear as Adam Sandler gives the best performance of his career and one of the best this year in Reign Over Me. It's the performance we've been hoping he could give his whole career, but doubted he had the capability of pulling off. Before I saw this movie a friend of mine described it to me as "scary." I wasn't sure how that word could possibly be attributed to any Adam Sandler movie but now after viewing it I see what he's talking about. All the Sandler mannerisms we've become accustomed to over the years are all mostly still there in this performance, except this time when they come out they're exploited for maximum dramatic effect instead of goofy comedy and the results are frightening, but brilliant.

I wish I could say writer/director Mike Binder's follow-up to his underrated 2005 film The Upside of Anger is as good the performance Sandler gives him here but that I can't. That's more of a compliment to his performance than a knock against the film, which on the whole is quite great and one of the better movies this year. I have a feeling this is one of those cases where the script probably doesn't read that well, but in the hands of the right actors and a very competent director the material is elevated. It isn't perfect running a bit long and piling on the melodrama at times (especially toward the end), but the strong performances and some intelligent writing manage to keep everything in check.

New York City dentist Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle) is going through the motions at home and work. He's uncommunicative with his wife Janeane (Jada Pinkett Smith) who he thinks is denying him any freedom and at the office he's slapped with a wrongful sexual harassment suit by an attractive patient (Suffron Burrows) who propositions him oral sex, much to the disgust of his unsupportive colleagues. With no one to confide in about anything Alan inappropriately hounds a psychiatrist (Liv Tyler) who works in his building for life guidance.

Things start to change when he bumps into old college roommate Charlie Fineman (Sandler) riding the streets on his motorized scooter and plugged into his headphones. Seeing an opportunity to fill a void for himself Alan tries to befriend the eccentric Charlie, who's been living in a fantasy world after shutting himself off from everyone after the loss of his family in the September 11th attacks. Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, it's too painful for Charlie to bring himself to remember he even had a family, effectively distracting himself with his vinyl record collection, never ending kitchen remodeling and video games.

Charlie refuses to speak to or acknowledge his in-laws (Robert Klein and Melinda Dillon) and his attorney and former best friend (played by Binder) can't get through to him at all. The only one who seems able to is Alan since his knowledge of Charlie and his life is essentially limited to the time they spent together in college. He didn't know Charlie's wife and daughters and presumably won't ask questions, so it's safe. Alan knows what happened though and as their friendship grows deeper it's an issue that's bound to come up. With this new friend, Alan is finally able to let go and have fun but Charlie's mental illness hangs over their friendship like a dark cloud and he's eventually faced with the difficult choice of whether he should get him help or remain an enabler like everyone else.

I'm sure I echo the feelings of many when I say the prospect of seeing an Adam Sandler 9/11 drama didn't exactly have me bursting with anticipation and excitement, but this isn't about September 11th. It's about how we felt, or didn't feel afterwards. This isn't World Trade Center or United 93. You could replace the event with any tragedy and we'd essentially have the same story. It's about this man trying to cope with his own grief and the friend who helps him do it. If September 11th can be replaced by any other tragedy in this film the question is: "Why didn't Binder just replace it?" Only he can answer that question and it isn't my place to judge the moral agenda of the filmmaker, just the film. I can only tell you how it's handled and leave it up you whether you want to see something like this.

You may think that tragedy should not be invoked under any circumstances in any film as a plot device and I can't say I'd blame you for it, especially when it's not completely necessary. That this detail adds an extra undercurrent of drama may make you uncomfortable, like the tragedy is being exploited. All I can say is that I won't look a gift horse in the mouth and just be relieved that Binder treats this emotional situation with the realism and intelligence it deserves. If he didn't there's no doubt we'd have an offensive disaster on our hands. You can tell as a writer he did the research of how a traumatic event of this magnitude would affect someone and he didn't cut any corners doing it.

What Binder really manages to capture well is the feeling of being around someone so unpredictable and unhinged you're never quite sure how to act around them or what will be the next thing to set them off. That's taken to the absolute extreme with Sandler's Charlie Fineman and the result is some very intense and uncomfortable scenes. One, in Alan's office, is almost too difficult to watch for its realism. There's always this sense that Charlie's on the cusp of his breaking moment for well over an hour, but we have mixed feelings on whether we ever want it to come. If he breaks, it may help. Or, it just may make things worse.

What's most impressive about Sandler's performance are the subtle hints he gives that there was once a normal guy underneath all this odd, anti-social behavior. The best scenes of the film involve the two just goofing around and having fun. Charlie's daily rituals of record collecting and playing his Shadow of the Colossus video game become Alan's as he finds a way to escape the doldrums of his daily existence. Don Cheadle is one of the best actors working today and his performance here, while not as flashy as Sandler's, is just as important a contribution. He's an expert at playing ordinary men caught in huge moral quandaries and the chemistry he shares with Sandler is what drives the film forward and helps it stay afloat in more problematic sections. It isn't easy to know the right notes to hit or how to react in playing opposite a performance as huge as Sandler's. Cheadle, as always, delivers without ever drawing unneeded attention to himself. He's an actor's actor if there ever was one and this film is yet another notch in his belt of great performances.

Alan's wife, which could have easily been written or played as a nagging hag (think Thandie Newton's character in the Pursuit of Happyness) isn't. She's just concerned about the well being of her husband and Pinkett Smith's seemingly effortless work keeps the character real even when her behavior threatens to cross that line. Their marriage never seems unhappy, but rather just stifling for Alan. A scene where she confronts him about his true motivation for befriending Charlie, and what it means for them, is a keeper.

Liv Tyler probably wouldn't be anyone's first choice to play a psychiatrist but the movie wisely acknowledges and plays with that notion presenting the character as somewhat thrown by the situation she's been put in. I liked that she knew how not to push Charlie too far and the quiet way Tyler conveyed it. The movie risks descending into theatricality with a courtroom showdown late in the film, but really, it would be an issue whether or not this man is mentally fit to be out on his own. The film may not answer that question definitively, but Donald Sutherland has a good cameo as a grouchy old judge intelligent enough to see something everyone else is missing. I don't even know what to make of the bizarre sub-plot involving Alan's sexual harassment accuser and am perplexed why she's not only still around at the end of the film, but an active participant in this story. That was either a really clever or incredibly stupid decision on Binder's part. I still can't make up my mind which.

Music plays a huge role in the film as the soundtrack choices of Bruce Springsteen, The Who (whose Love Reign O'er Me provides the inspiration for the film's title), The Pretenders, Jackson Browne and Bob Seger reflect the music on Charlie's ipod. Some may think Binder's use of it in the film is manipulative, but it isn't. Honestly, how many times have you buried yourself in your ipod to escape all your problems? I know I do it every day. This is a severe depiction, but for good reason. If anyone was dealt the blow this man has they'd never take off those headphones and with no real life anymore this music is all he has left. It becomes Charlie's sanctuary from his loss and a shield against uncomfotable encounters with those who want to remind him of it.

Binder also gives us one of the best depictions of New York City I've ever seen in a film. Rather than overdoing it with grand, sweeping shots, he just lets the characters take us on their journey through the sidewalks and streets. He just places the camera with them and lets the city do all the talking. There are plenty of movies shot in New York but most of them are done in such a way that you don't even feel like it is. It may as well be Toronto or a studio backlot in California. Whether or not you believe New York really is "the greatest city in the world" (I don't) this is one of the few movies that can actually make a case for it and Mayor Mike Bloomberg owes Binder and cinematographer Russ Alsobrook a thank you note.

Resembling a young Bob Dylan with his shaggy hair and scruffy unkempt appearance, this is Sandler's finest hour. Actually, he so closely resembles Dylan in appearance that it got me thinking it's a shame we already have an upcoming Dylan biopic on its way because Sandler would have been perfect for the role. After this I'm actually convinced he would have the dramatic chops to effectively pull that off. It would be nice if he got some awards recognition for his work here but unfortunately the rest of his acting resume is so low brow it would take nothing just short of a miracle for that to happen.

We've also seen that the Academy doesn't respond to favorably to movies dealing directly or indirectly with the events of 9/11. Anyone, who like me, grew up as a fan of the Sandler comedies of the 90's you're in for a real treat. He understandably has many detractors who find him irritating but they'll even have to be impressed with what he pulls off in this one.

It's unfortunate Sandler has lately found himself in the same type-casting quandary as Jim Carrey. Audiences complain they play the same role over and over but when they try to stretch and give good performances in dramatic films that aren't as easily accessible their fans want no part of it. I hope the lackluster response to this very affecting film doesn't dissuade Sandler from taking more risks in the future. Whatever direction he chooses to go, Sandler proves here that he can bring the goods, making Reign Over Me an emotionally draining, but ultimately very satisfying experience