Reign Over Me

We meet Charlie (Adam Sandler) as he glides through the streets of New York on a motorised scooter, seemingly without a care in the world.
Alan (Don Cheadle) has the perfect life. He's a successful dentist, has a wife and two daughters. Nothing, however, is how it seems.
Charlie and Alan were college room-mates but when they run into each other Charlie can't remember the guy he lived with for two years. He's always distracted and Alan makes it his job to discover why Charlie is not the man he remembers.
At the same time Alan is feeling smothered by his family, he feels he has lost his itentity and craves some air. He even hates the job that has given him security.
Charlie, as we learn, is living in heavy denial. He lost his family, and in some way his life, on 9/11.
I've already mentioned how much I like comedians who do drama. Sandler is amazing as the tortured Charlie. At times he's almost child-like in his approach to the world having tried so hard to suppress what he has been through.
In one particularly moving scene he says: `I don't like to remember'.
Reign Over Me is a story about grief, about loss, about friendship, and about healing. Both men are in need of healing, in different ways, and watching them use each other to claw their way back into life was profound.
This is truly a brilliant film. It's raw at times but also tender and you really feel for Charlie and what he is going through. Sandler is a revelation here. He pulls off the heavy scenes like a seasoned pro and Cheadle ably backs him up.
I had high expectations going in and Reign Over Me more than lived up to them. A very strong 9 out of 10.