It’s one of those stories where two completely different people come together and, to get New-Age’y about it, help each other heal. The Parry half of the pair would be Adam Sandler as Charlie Fineman, a man psychologically damaged by the death of his wife and daughters in one of the September 11th plane crashes. The other half – Lucas, without the astonishingly shocking tragedy – is Don Cheadle as Alan Johnson, a restless dentist dissatisfied with work and distanced from his wife (Jada Pinkett Smith). When the old college chums are reunited, thanks to a serendipitous meeting on the street, the healing follows a predictable path: Fineman teaches Johnson how to live again while Johnson strives to help Fineman overcome his personal tragedy.
While endings tend to undo an otherwise good film, it’s actually the last third of “Reign Over Me” that has all the meaty dramatic moments that make the previous, familiar first two-thirds mostly worthwhile. There are even strong enough moments to compensate for that new greeting card smell emanating from the overall resolution. But it also goes to show just how poorly the two characters’ emotional journeys really gel. Johnson’s detachment from his life is rather insignificant in comparison to the tragedy that is the death of Fineman’s family, unbalancing the degree to which each character can help each other. When the movie comes up for air from Fineman’s dysfunction and finally remembers that Johnson has a story, too, the pat epiphany they throw his way feels very much like the paltry, last-minute bone it is. The film very much feels like the Fineman show, punctuated by Sandleresque bursts of anger, and less like the examination of a life-changing friendship.
It’s interesting, though, how September 11th (as opposed to some generic car crash or anonymous crime) is the catalyst for Fineman’s psychological disintegration. Unlike “United 93” or “World Trade Center,” we have in “Reign Over Me” a film that doesn’t re-enact the events of September 11th, but reflects life after that infamous day. Could it be that the passage of time has given us the necessary detachment to think about the emotional aftermath? If films continue on in the vein of “Reign Over Men,” the answer is surely yes.
Technical Quality: * (out of two)
Reign Over Me. Written and directed by Mike Binder. Starring Don Cheadle, Adam Sandler, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, and Saffron Burrows. 124 minutes. Rated R for language and some sexual references.