Reign Over Me: An Excellent Film that Brings September 11th Close to Home

There are now several epic dramas on the horror we all know as September 11th. Some are from the perspective of those who were on the planes that crashed into the towers. Others were the stories who tried to survive in the buildings after they were hit. Others, still, are of the heroic individuals who came to the rescue. Reign Over Me is not like any of these films.

Reign Over Me is the story of Dr. Charlie Fineman (Adam Sadler) who tragically lost his wife and daughters on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. Unlike most victims of major loss who, some how, slowly put their lives back together, Fineman not only fails to move forward but goes back into the past, becoming like an irresponsible teenager who is financed by insurance money following the tragedy.

Yet he is clearly in pain and a lost soul, roaming through the city of New York or playing video games. This remains the case until he runs across his old college roommate, Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle). Fineman tries to drag his old friend into his world of denial and adolescence, but Johnson is married with children of his own.

The two go through numerous incidents filled with humor and drama that leads to the end of the story. That is something you are going to have to watch yourself. The movie was really quite profound to me and showed me that there are thousands of individuals who were directly devastated by September 11th. There are thousands more related to those individuals and are also affected. This tragedy continues to spread. This is a powerful drama that reminds me why we fight the war of terror. I'm sure it wasn't their point in making it, but it still had that type of impact on me.

Regardless of your view of the war or the movie, this film is a "must see" picture. This film was brilliantly acted by all the major characters and it is something I look forward to seeing again. You have heard the saying, "it made me laugh and it made me cry." That is the story of Reign Over Me.