Saturday, February 02, 2008

reign over me

Steph, Rachel, and I watched the movie "Reign Over Me" with Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle last night. It was a fascinatingly good movie, and somehow I let this one get by me when it released to theaters last spring.

The movie is essentially about Adam Sandler's character dealing with the loss of his entire family as the result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, and shows him as he struggles trough the emotional turmoil of living life even six years after the event happened. It was a really interesting depiction of those events, and I appreciated that the writer intentionally never showed "footage" of the towers or planes themselves, and he didn't need to... rather he retold that story and the effect it had on so many people through the life of this truly devastated man.

Don Cheadle, one of my favorite actors, was stellar as usual. He plays dramatic roles so well, and the chemistry between Sandler and Cheadle was great. While a somber movie in terms of overall plot and message, it was communicated with humorous overtones (as would be natural for Sandler and Cheadle), which makes this heavy movie fun to watch and at the same time difficult to absorb.

So if you're looking to get away from an evening of guns, explosions, and CGI monsters, I highly recommend this movie. It is serious, but brilliant, and well worth the watch.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

burns, i agree...amazing movie...and i only like funny movies!

-squaks' comment #2

Anonymous said...

Excellent movie. I thought Sandler was great. I tend to think his half-way serious roles are his best. He comes off as a genuine, normal guy in those types of movies...someone you might meet every day. I found this movie quite thought provoking. When tragedy strikes, most of us go back to life as normal. What happens to those who cannot move past it? The way Sandler's character dealt with it was so tragic. And the tension you felt through the whole movie as Cheadle befriended someone who at times just snapped, it was good stuff. I dare say it may have been Sandler's best work. And as you mentioned, Cheadle was stellar as usual.

RachelRay said...

i was there too.