Reign Over Me

Adam Sandler is not the type of actor that comes to mind when you think of strong, emotional character driven movies. But he's done a decent share, and I have to admit I've enjoyed his more serious turns. We all - and perhaps this aging me horribly - loved Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore; I'm not sure how they've stood up to the test of time but they were the highlights and bar for any Sandler movie I would go see later on, but it didn't take long to become disappointed over and over again, to the point where I gladly ignored any movie of his to better spend my time staring into the void. But, I did watch Punch Drunk Love (which I enjoyed then, and presumably would appreciate now moreso that I've "matured" a bit) and I may be one of the few that enjoyed Funny People.

Reign Over Me initially blipped onto my radar because of the gaming blogosphere lighting up with mentions of Shadow of the Colossus. A "serious" Sandler film where he portrays a video gamer? Where he portrays a grief-stricken father working through depression after his entire family is lost in the events of 9/11? That trifecta can't possibly intermix, and I'm not sure I heard much more on the film. But I watched it the other night, and I have to say, I was gripped the entire time. At first, and sometimes I do this, I plan to watch a movie in two parts: typically after I come home from work and I'm eating dinner. When I'm done eating, I'll stop the movie and pick it up again the next day. So, I stopped the movie forty five minutes in, and after going for a walk in the cold, I came home and immediately watched the rest of the film.

Sandler's character is damaged, quite severly and understandably. He's surrounded by enablers until his old college roomate runs into him a couple of times and they begin rekindling their friendship. It's said by one of the characters that the only reason that Charlie (Sandler) lets Johnson (Cheadle) into his life is because Johnson didn't know Charlie's later life: his life with his family, and after college. Therefore, he won't ask questions, or his questions can be easily avoided. Unfortunately it's not that simple, but what we have here are two friends helping one another out. To a degree, Charlie is free from everyday commitments, such as tending to his wife's needs. It's something that Johnson is struggling with as he begins to fall into love with old habits of staying out late, being spontaneous and going to bed after 10:30pm. What the two characters do is teach one another how to communicate: Charlie is able to open up and get to a point - however fragile of a state that point is - where he can stop pretending the past fifteen years of his life haven't existed. Indeed, when they first run into one another, Charlie (pretends) to not have any idea who Johnson is, even though they lived and shared their personal lives together for two years.

Johnson has communication problems, and lets people walk all over him at both home and business. Charlie is able to - inadvertently of course - help Johnson grow a bit of a backbone, but more importantly, to make him realize how damaging his lack of communication is to his family. What he mistakes as a nagging wife is actually a caring one, one who is trying in her own way to get him to speak and share with her.

When Johnson first goes over to Charlie's place he is incessantly playing Shadow of the Colossus; he talks about it beforehand and if you've never played the game, you may have the same reaction: it's just a video game. But it's definitely much more than that, and it's not chosen at random. This is not The Wizard, which basically served as ninety minute commercial for Super Mario Bros. 3. Shadow follows the story of a young man who loses his love, and through an agreement with an unknown entity, must "fall" a dozen or so colossi: giant, lumbering creatures that dwarf the main character. It's a story of adversity, of love, of blindness. The protagonist in the game doesn't now the effects of what he's doing: from an outsider's perspective he's going around killing perfectly friendly, giant creatures. Charlie is able to become immersed in the game's world, paralleling his own desire to bring back his family, but never being able to realize the goal as reality stumbles in to the way.

The game also allows the two to become closer as they play, watching one another battle each colossus. I can definitely relate to this as it's a memorable way of playing, and with a game like this, can become more of a bonding experience than playing a game split screen simultaneously or together online. I wish I had thought of this, but it was not my idea: the fact that Charlie is bringing down these colossuses over and over is no doubt a mirror of what plays out in his mind as he sees the towers - two colossuses upon themselves - coming down over, and over.

There are a lot of great actors in this film, and they all do an incredible job. Of course, the most surprising and enjoyable is Sandler's. As I mentioned before, he does not take the "serious" role very often and I don't see how he could pass up a film like this. You feel for him, and although I can't relate to what the characters has gone through (perhaps relating more to Johnson), I can feel for him and his incredible presence. There are moments when he becomes unbuckled, and a darkness overcomes the scene; it is weighty and you're terrified, just as you should be.