Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler) is a recluse. He was once a great dentist, but after losing his family on September 11th, he fell inward, so much so that he actively denies ever having a family. It takes his

good friend and former college room-mate Alan Johnson (the marvelous Don Cheadle), to help coax Charlie back to reality and accept what happened and move on. Along the way, Alan has his own issues to fix with his family back home; he's rather a family man, with no real hobbies or his own life to speak of.

    Director Mike Binder, who did the enjoyable 'The Upside of Anger', oversteps his limits. He's attempting to craft a melodrama, a fine and simple goal, but ends up with an overlong, and seemingly, never-ending character study that finally finishes long after it should have. The major breakdown/catharsis scene, where Charlie finally reveals everything, is the logical climax, and there would be a small denouement following. But the film insists upon continuing and by that point, even Donald Sutherland as a judge cannot save 'Reign' from wallowing in its own angst and pity, like a teenage girl who had just been dumped the night of the prom, she wants everyone to look at her.

    Sandler does have dramatic chops in him, of that we are definitely aware, but it takes a more skilled hand than Binder to bring it out (like PTA, for instance) and his Charlie, while likable, is always "too" likable, and we are ever aware of Sandler playing Charlie, when he should just be Charlie. His depression is definitely one note. Sandler plays it at relatively the same level for just about the entire movie: a miserable son of a bitch whom we only like because hey, it's Adam Sandler and he was damn funny in a lot of other films.

    Don Cheadle is Don Cheadle, and he brings the subtle nuance that should have been invested in Sandler's character. Johnson has his own problems to deal with, his own little quirks that feel entirely believable. Ask any married man and I am positive they will relate to the plight of Dr. Johnson. He's a good friend to have by your side, and Charlie just never seems to get that, further denigrating him to idiot shmuck and Cheadle to lovable guy. Of the two mains, Cheadle is undeniably the more realistic and relatable, and not just because he never lost his family, but because he isn't a miserable s.o.b. for the entirely far too long running time.

    Story arcs are introduced, dropped and sometimes, simply go nowhere. The biggest offender is Saffron Burrows' Miss Remar: I am still unsure what the point of her being in this film is. She has a small story arc involving Don Cheadle that is resolved about half-way through the film. For all intents and purposes, she was there to help Cheadle get his stones back and she helps accomplish that, alright, bye bye. Yet she insists upon sticking around and growing a very painfully forced crush on Charlie that goes absolutely nowhere. She hovers in the background and flits about, riding on her good looks (and at least she has those).

    Binder litters the films with symbols of loss and regret, but none strike a chord more than Charlie's obsession with the game 'Shadow of the Colossus', which I simply have to mention because it is one of the most hauntingly beautiful games ever. And it's very symbolic of Charlie: one man against a mountain. Perhaps, especially when he takes down a avian behemoth, he feels a little of what it was like to go down in the planes. Or maybe, he just needs to destroy something huge and towering, to send it crashing to the ground, to get a little closer, a little peace.

    'Reign Over Me' is an earnest attempt that gets sidetracked by too many little plot contrivances. Charlie is depressed, but he is by no means suicidal and Sandler lacks the chops to pull that off. The first two thirds are quite interesting, if a little flawed, but the last 40 minutes or so, it becomes an entirely different film. I know Mike Binder wanted to craft a universal story about loss, and more importantly, loss in 9/11, but he misses and what we have is an almost good tale that comes crashing to the ground under the weight of its own self-righteousness. It is a film that desperately says 'I am important', but never gives you a reason to believe it.

The film is littered with nonsensical points and contrivances, and when breakthroughs or burnouts seem to occur, they're suddenly reset at the next scene,, only to reoccur in the exact same manner later on.

    We live in a time when talking about September 11th is like drinking water. Politicians, neighbors, everybody. It's 9/11 this, 9/11 that. But here, there was no reason outside of "Oh, okay, everyone knows about this horrible incident." Charlie's family never had to die in 9/11, it could have been any accident, but Binder's attempting to appeal to a wide audience and using jingoism and shocking the public is a great way of doing that.