Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle) is a successful Manhattan cosmetic dentist. He and his wife Janeane (Jada Pinkett Smith) have two young daughters and live comfortably in a Manhattan apartment. But sadly enough, he is not enjoying his prosperous life. He feels imprisoned in work he doesn't like and a marriage that is too constricting. One day on the streets, he sees Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler), his college roommate, ride by on a motor scooter. Alan knows that his former buddy's wife and children perished in one of the planes that crashed into the Towers on Sept. 11, 2001. Spending some time with Charlie, he discovers that this intense and high-strung former dentist has retreated from the world and is living in a fantasy realm so he doesn't have to think or talk about unpleasant things. Everyone has his own way of working with grief. Alan wants to help Charlie but isn't quite sure what he can do.
The two start hanging out together, much to the dismay of Alan's wife who feels more shut out of his life than ever. Charlie introduces his rediscovered friend to the pleasures of video games and Mel Brooks' comedy films. He has very definite ideas about how to savor old rock and pop music albums, best in their vinyl incarnations. Charlie loves playing drums to Bruce Springsteen's "The River" and listening to the The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me" through earphones, which he wears almost constantly. His privacy is protected by his landlady and his personal accountant. One of his personal projects is endlessly remodeling his kitchen.
Alan eventually convinces Charlie to see a psychiatrist he knows, Angela Oakhurst (Liv Tyler), with the goal of pulling him out of his shell so he can talk about the deaths of his wife and children. Meanwhile, Alan faces his own crisis at the office when an attractive and emotionally unstable woman (Saffron Burrows) who sexually propositioned him threatens to bring a suit against him for sexually attacking her. His associates over-react to this case, and Alan feels more isolated than ever.
Mike Binder (The Upside of Anger) directs this engrossing drama about the value of friendship in the lives of two men who both desperately need help. Henri J. M. Nouwen once wrote, "We need loving and caring friends with whom we can speak from the depth of our heart. Such friends can take away the paralysis that secrecy creates. They can offer us a safe and sacred place, where we can express our deepest sorrows and joys, and they can confront us in love, challenging us to a greater spiritual maturity." That is a perfect description of what happens in the unfolding relationship between the two lead characters in this film.
Adam Sandler puts in a stellar performance as the closed-down Charlie who has walled himself away from the pain and suffering of the past and the loss of his loved ones. But the heart and the soul of Reign Over Me belongs to Don Cheadle's Alan, a man having a midlife crisis who finds a way to come to terms with his own disappointments as he tries to bring his friend back into the land of the living. Two scene-stealing performances must also be mentioned here. One is by Donald Sutherland as a judge who is very sensitive to the emotional nuances in his courtroom, and Paula Newsome as Alan's spunky receptionist.
Special DVD features include "A Still Reign"; "Behind the Reign"; and a jam session with Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle.
