Review of Reign Over Me (2007) by Dawdlingpoet — 20 Nov 2021

This is obviously a different role from the usual comedic ones that Adam Sandler is well known for. In this, he plays the rather permanently shell shocked looking Charlie and he pulls it off quite well.

It is, understandably, quite a sad movie, that delas mainly in grief and how its handled, how it can change and isolate a person.

It also explores loneliness, a subject I feel I have some, if only a little, knowledge of.

You do feel sorry for Charlie, who's clearly lost his way and is suspicious of any real attempt to get him to open up, which causes some rather bad outbursts.

I felt that the movie is a little slow to start with and you'd have to be curious enough about the characters, to really want to find out more about them, about their past and so on, to really be engrossed in the movie. I found the character of Charlie quite intriguing, you can see that he hides alot of emotions and memories behind his current exterior and as things unfold, you learn and can see, little by little, a bit more behind this exterior. Its quite uncomfortable viewing in places, as mentioned earlier you might well want tissues for this one, infact its practically a must!

This im sure will touch a nerve with anyone who suffered a loss or was otherwise affected on that fateful day of 9/11 and I do think that, in a way, it was, or is, a movie that needed to be made, to give, if just fictional, an insight into the struggles of somebody who suffered strongly from that day.

I'm sure there are people who have been affected like Charlie, it makes you think.

I felt that, as the movie progressed, it became quite haunting. You can really feel, or sense, his loneliness and frustration and as things take a turn for the worse, you can but hope for a good ending (which you'll see the movie to find out if there is one, of course. I try not to give too much away).

In the end, I feel this is a sad, haunting movie that gives what I believe to be a pretty gritty and realistic look at the life of somebody thats disconnected from reality and unable to fully move on, after suffering from a major tragedy.

Both the main actors (Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler) play their roles well and its quite good to see Sandler play a different character to that of 'Happy Gilmore' or 'Little Nicky'. I felt that both actors did well in this, providing solid performances. The cast is good and the story felt realistic and so overall, I think it was done very well.

Its hard viewing in a way but it is is a very good movie and I would very much recommend it. Its thought-provoking, gritty stuff. Just be sure to have some tissues to hand ladies!.