Reign Over Me (15)

The clang of warning bells deafens as Adam Sandler puts on his serious face for a post-9/11 New York story (what next? Rob Schneider ponders the plight of Katrina survivors?). But as long as you don’t expect the subtlety and integrity of, say, Spike Lee’s 25th Hour, writer-director Mike Binder’s movie won’t curl your toes too tight. Facing his biggest dramatic challenge since Punch-Drunk Love, Sandler essays a dishevelled dignity as an ex-dentist who spends half the film scootering around Manhattan in near-autistic denial of his wife and daughters’ Twin Towers demise. A chance meeting with former roommate Don Cheadle (nicely underplaying his commitment-clash woes) allows Binder to warm up an affecting, gently amusing buddy flick that sheds less light on loss than on the stresses and satisfactions of helping a friend.

DVD Extras:

A Making Of and Sandler/Cheadle ‘extended jam session’ were unavailable at press time.

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