THE MOVIE PAGES presents DON CHEADLE & ADAM SANDLER in REIGN OVER ME reignoverme.htm

What Do The Critics Say?

"A subtle and substantial film and is elevated further by the lead performances, as well as the first-class support of Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows and Donald Sutherland."
Jack Garner ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE
"I must admit I've never been a great fan of Adam Sandler, but he won me over in this difficult and effective role and if you can forgive the neat Hollywood ending, Reign Over Me is a powerful film on the nature of grief and the redemptive strength of friendship."
Katherine Tulich SUNDAY NINEMSN
"Mike Binder, whose previous work (The Upside of Anger) suggested the possibility of great things, fully arrives with this delicately observed and emotionally expansive drama."
Mark Keizer BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE
"This is a film that teeters on the edge of sentimentality and incredibility but manages to walk a fine line so that the character of the deeply troubled Charlie is actually immensely moving. 4 STARS"
David Stratton ABC AT THE MOVIES
"Reign is a triumph for Cheadle and Sandler, whose performances strew the seeds of regeneration. Reign Over Me is about both the impossibility and the necessity of male friendship. Binder (an actor/writer/director who gives himself a small part in the film as Charlie's attorney) gets the best out of his actors in this electrifying character study."
Carrie Rickey PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

"This is not a simple, uplifting tale. It's never clear whether Charlie will fully recover, and that sense of realism is the film's strength. Amid the somber themes are winning moments of humor and hope. One comic highlight is provided by Alan's receptionist, played by Paula Newsome, last seen as the surly bereavement counselor in Little Miss Sunshine."
Claudia PuigUSA TODAY
"It’s an interesting role for Sandler, he manages to imbue the character with real pain. Cheadle is good, as always, but Sandler's portrayal of a guy on the perennial brink of a psychotic breakdown is amazing."
Jack Mathews NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
"Although all the talk is about Sandler's performance, Cheadle's is every bit as good. He has a much tougher job, playing straight man to Sandler's semicraziness."
Bill Muller ARIZONA REPUBLIC
"Movies about male friendship are often trivialized with the 'buddy' tag, but this one resonates beyond that."
Kevin Crust LOS ANGELES TIMES
"It's the story of two men in crisis, and how they inadvertently help one another. Bring a tissue; the emotional territory is profound, as are the two central performances with Adam Sander as a man lost in grief and denial and Don Cheadle, a man surrounded by success but who has lost a sense of himself."
Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE
"Playing a man with so many barriers up that he essentially lives a solitary life in the heart of the city that never sleeps, Sandler is reasonably effective in a role significantly more demanding than most of his other work. His Charlie Fineman is colourless for much of the film, but on the occasion that he does finally let his emotions show, Sandler does a better than adequate job of the performance."
Mark Lavercombe HOOPLA

The Inside Story All of us value friendship but it's a theme writer/director Mike Binder hadn't explored. "I always wanted to write a story about friendship," says Mike Binder. "Every one of us needs a friend to help us through the tough times. This whole movie is about communication; two men who, together, learn to start talking." At the centre of Binder's latest film, "Reign Over Me" are two characters. One is Alan Johnson, a successful New York Cosmetic Dentist and the other is his former college room-mate Charlie Fineman. Johnson who hasn't seen his friend in years sees a disheveled Charlie riding his motorized scooter and after failing to attract his attention decides to track him down. What he doesn't know is that Charlie Fineman has withdrawn from the world after losing his wife, children and family dog in the tragedy of 9/11. Both characters are flawed by their lack of communication. "One of the common denominators for people who have endured the loss of a loved one is that they are pulled out by their friends and family, and I wanted to show that," says Binder. "Alan, on the other hand, feels he’s unable to communicate what he needs. He’s in a great marriage, but he’s not showing up for it. The soul of this movie is the story of two men who don’t have anyone to talk to but who, as the movie progresses, find they have each other." Binder chose two well known actors for the lead roles. Academy Award ® nominee Don Cheadle, who starred in "Crash" and Hotel "Rwanda"plays as Alan Johnson. Actor, writer, producer, director, musician and comedian Adam Sandler plays Charlie Finemore. Both actors are backed by a strong supporting cast. Jada Pinkett Smith stars as Janeane Johnson, Alan’s stalwart and beautiful wife; Liv Tyler is Angela Oakhurst, a young therapist whose earnest desire to help people may just be the stepping stone Charlie needs to help him on his way to recovery; Saffron Burrows plays Donna Remar, a beautiful but troubled young woman who enters both Charlie's and Alan's lives in unexpected ways; Donald Sutherland is Judge Raines, and Mike Binder appears in the film as Charlie's business manager, Bryan Sugarman. Binder is very particular when it comes to casting. "I don’t want somebody to do a movie because of the money or because it would be a good career move," he notes. "I'm looking for actors who say, 'Something about this part is touching me'." Does he write with a particular actor or actress in mind? "Mike writes with a cast in mind,” says Jack Binder (Mike's brother and one of the film’s producers). "Once they’re on board, he’ll work with them to build their back story and tailor the material to their strengths. Initially, though, I think actors are simply attracted to the beauty of his writing."

Binder's "Reign Over Me" is set in New York. "It’s a New York story," says co-producer Rachel Zimmerman. "The decision to film there was one of the most important creative decisions in pre-production. So much of the film is Adam Sandler’s character riding around in the streets on his scooter in the cold. This character could only have been captured in New York itself." Jack Binder notes the crew covered a lot of ground over nearly a month of shooting the film. "We used every opportunity to get as much of the exteriors, backgrounds and taste of New York as we could, everything up to the front door of the buildings." There was another reason Binder chose New York for the location. He was in New York on September 11th, 2001. "I wandered the streets, seeing people who had lost their whole lives in one day," he recalls. "A year and a half later, I was back in New York with my family, remembering all those people I had seen. I kept thinking that for a lot of them, that day never ended, their trauma was ongoing. That sparked the idea to do a story about a survivor, years on, and the people in his life who pull him through." Producer Michael Rotenberg was with Binder on that fateful day in New York. "In one chilling moment, a person’s whole life can change," Rotenberg says. "Whether it's 9/11, the tsunami, or another calamitous event, the randomness of fate can leave a person stripped of all they love. Then, after a few weeks after a period of time during which it seems the whole world is standing by their side, these individuals are left on their own to make sense of their situation." Those who have seen Binder's films "Man About Town" and "The Upside Of Anger" will know that while both films have a huge dramatic aspect in the storytelling, they also feature some comedic moments. "Every script I write starts as a comedy, but my favorite comedies always come from a real place," says Binder. "As I strive for that, the stories just seem to come out with dramatic themes." Binder's two lead characters lives are in a mess. "My character’s a mess and Adam’s character’s a mess," Cheadle says. "It was interesting playing these two guys who need each other to figure things out, even if at the end of the film you’re still not necessarily sure what it is they’ve figured out. It’s not overly simplistic and that’s interesting." Binder notes Johnson "needs some air but isn’t able to express this need. Inadvertently, his relationship with Charlie helps him do that." Behind every good man is a good woman they say. In Johnsons case that good woman is his wife Janeane. "I thought it was important to show her inner strength, but still make the character a woman who needs Alan to return, and who Alan needs to return to," says Pinkett Smith. "It was an interesting balance. She’s very patient, she knows and loves her husband, and she believes they will get to a resolution."

A key player in the lives of both Alan and Charlie is New Yorj therapist Dr Angela Oakhurst. "My character works in the same building as Don’s character. He needs somebody to talk to, but won’t commit to making an appointment. He’ll wait for her, then pretend that it’s just coincidence that they’re always bumping into each other," says Liv Tyler. "She’s the person he thinks of when Charlie is ready to get the help he needs." Now here's something spooky. Without a word of a lie, before even seeing or reading a word about "Reign Over Me", just twenty four hours before attending a screening I was going through a thought process when out of the blue a question popped into my mind. "I wonder what has happened to actress Saffron Burrows?" Low and behold, she plays another woman in both Johnson and Finemore's lives. "I was blown away and knew she’d be right for the role," says Binder who cast her after seeing Burrows in a London play. "I had her and Adam get together and you could see this tender awkwardness about her that really worked well. She’s a wonderful actress." Burrows character Donna is also a deeply troubled soul. "She’s a beautiful woman who’s been destroyed by a very tragic marital split," Binder says. "She’s an odd creature who keeps coming into Alan’s dental office and propositioning him in a very odd way, but when we begin to know her, we realize how wounded she is." Of her character, Burrows notes: "Donna is pretty troubled; I think of her as untethered. She doesn’t really have any guy ropes. She’s like a tent flapping in the wind. She was fun to play." Besides the storyline and the characters the big plus for "Reign Over Me" is the location. Production designer Pipo Wintter searched up and down Manhattan with local location scouts to find the film’s landscape. An elegant pre-war building on Park Avenue on the Upper East Side served as the location for Alan Johnson’s plush dental offices while across Central Park, filming continued on the Upper West Side’s Roosevelt Park, West End, and Columbus Avenues for the Alan and Janeane Johnson's apartment and their neighborhood. Sugarman's firm was found on the 30th floor of the Reuters Building near Times Square, and Grand Central Station’s restaurant makes an appearance in a scene in which Alan meets with Charlie’s in-laws while The Goldwater Hospital on Roosevelt Island, formerly known as Welfare Island, set the scene for Charlie’s brief incarceration. The films title comes from a song on The Who’s landmark album, "Quadrophenia". "I was a huge fan of The Who and I wanted the movie to have the same feeling as their work," director Binder said. "A kind of joyous pain." Synopsis

Cosmetic Dentist Alan Johnson appears to have everything, until he runs into former college roomate Charlie Fineman on a Manhattan street corner. Five years after losing his wife and three daughters and the family dog on 9/11, Charlie, once a highly successful dentist, has retreated from his life shutting out the world around him including his devastated in-laws Jonathan and Ginger Timpleman who are desperately trying to get through to him. Alan is stunned to see the changes in his formerly gregarious friend. At the same time, Alan, who should be enjoying his beautiful wife, children and career, finds himself overwhelmed by his responsibilities. Their rekindled relationship becomes a lifeline for the two men, who are both in need of a trusted friend at this pivotal moment in their lives. Alan introduces Charlie to Angela, a psychiatrist who he hopes will unlock Charlie's troubled mind.

The Verdict "Adam Sandler tries another serious role and for the most part it works pretty well in Mike Binder's follow-up to "Man About Town", "Reign Over Me", a tragic tale of loss with some comedic moments. The strength of the film is the performance of Don Cheadle who, in his role as Cosmetic Dentist Alan Johnson, gives another strong performance. The film is further strengthened by those in the supporting cast which includes Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows, Melinda Dillon, Jada Pinkett Smith (as Alan's astute wife) and that of Donald Sutherland who makes an appearance as a sympathetic, understanding Judge in the final act. While "Reign Over Me" is not quite as good as "The Upside Of Anger" (by far Mike Binders best work to date) it is still a very watchable film simply because Binder makes us care about Charlie Fineman's plight. Recommended. 3 1/2 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "REIGN OVER ME" stars .......
Adam Sandler ["Punch-Drunk Love", "50 First Dates", "Spanglish" and "Click"]; Don Cheadle ["Traffic", "The Assassination of Richard Nixon", "Crash" and "Hotel Rwanda"]; Jada Pinkett Smith ["The Nutty Professor", "Ali", "The Matrix I, II & III" and "Collateral"]; Liv Tyler ["Silent Fall", "Armageddon" and "The Lord of the Rings I, II & III"]; Saffron Burrows ["Enigma", "Frida", "Troy" and "Perfect Creature"]; Paula Newsome ["Straight Talk", "Guess Who" and "Little Miss Sunshine"] and Donald Sutherland ["Space Cowboys", "The Italian Job", "Cold Mountain" and "Pride & Prejudice"] as Judge Raines.
"REIGN OVER ME" was .......
directed by Mike Binder ["Crossing the Bridge", "The Upside of Anger" and "Man About Town"]; screenplay by Mike Binder ["Indian Summer", "The Search For John Gissing" and "Man About Town"]; costume design by Deborah L Scott ["Back to the Future", "Titanic", "Minority Report" and "The Island"]; production design by Christian Wintter ["East of A", "The Legend of Razorback" and "Man About Town"]; set decoration by Jon Danniells ["Panic Room", "2 Fast 2 Furious" and "The Legend of Zorro"]; cinematography by Russ T Alsobrook ["Mona Must Die", "The Closet" and "The Good Daughter"]; original music by Rolfe Kent ["Nurse Betty", "About Schmidt", "Sideways" and "Wedding Crashers"]; produced by Jack Binder ["The Search for John Gissing", "The Upside of Anger" and "Man About Town"] and Michael Rotenberg ["Beverly Hills Ninja", "Down to Earth" and "Head Of State"]. Who's Who?

Adam Sandler
Don Cheadle
Jada Pinkett Smith
Liv Tyler
Saffron Burrows
Paula Newsome
Donald Sutherland
Robert Klein
Melinda Dillon
Mike Binder
Ted Raimi
Paul Butler
Camille LaChe Smith

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Charlie Fineman
Alan Johnson
Janeane Johnson
Angela Oakhurst
Donna Remar
Melanie
Judge Raines
Jonathan Timpleman
Ginger Timpleman
Bryan Sugarman
Peter Savarino
George Johnson
Cherie Johnson