Reign Over Me (2007)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Mike Binder

Writer (WGA):

Mike Binder (written by)

Release Date:

23 March 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Let in the unexpected.

Plot:

A man who lost his family in the September 11 attack on New York City runs into his old college roommate. Rekindling the friendship is the one thing that appears able to help the man recover from his grief.

Plot Keywords:

Roommate | Friendship | Grief | New York City | College Roommate

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Adam Sandler	...	Charlie Fineman
Don Cheadle	...	Alan Johnson
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Janeane Johnson
Liv Tyler	...	Angela Oakhurst
Saffron Burrows	...	Donna Remar
Donald Sutherland	...	Judge Raines
Robert Klein	...	Jonathan Timpleman
Melinda Dillon	...	Ginger Timpleman
Mike Binder	...	Bryan Sugarman
Jonathan Banks	...	Stelter
Rae Allen	...	Adell Modell
Paula Newsome	...	Melanie
John de Lancie	...	Nigel Pennington
Paul Butler	...	George Johnson
Camille LaChe Smith	...	Cherie Johnson (as Camille LaChe-Smith)
Imani Hakim	...	Jocelyn Johnson
Denise Dowse	...	Psychiatric Hospital Therapist
Anthony Chisholm	...	William Johnson
B.J. Novak	...	Mr. Fallon
Jessica Golden	...	Night Club Comic
Ted Raimi	...	Peter Savarino
Harris Peet	...	Kemp
Molly Binder	...	Becky Fishman
Tommy Nohilly	...	Patty
Robert Harvey	...	Dental Partner
Nick Taylor	...	Taxi Driver
M.D. Walton	...	New York Police Officer #1
Chad Brigockas	...	New York Police Officer #2 (as Chad R. Brigockas)
Elizabeth Andrews	...	Sugarman's Secretary
Neal Young	...	New Dental Patient (as Neal Robert Young)
Lela Loren	...	Dental Hygienist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gina Fricchione	...	Dr.Johnson's waiting room patient (uncredited)
Diana Gettinger	...	Doreen Fineman (uncredited)
Karen Huie	...	News Reporter (uncredited)
Amber Ingram	...	Jenny Fineman (uncredited)
Lou Irizarry	...	Moving Man (uncredited)
Joey King	...	Gina Fineman (uncredited)
Lester G. Reynolds	...	Psyche Patient (uncredited)
Arick Salmea	...	Rock Club Guy (uncredited)

Directed by
Mike Binder

Writing credits (WGA)
Mike Binder		(written by)

Produced by
Jack Binder	....	producer
Jack Giarraputo	....	executive producer
Michael Rotenberg	....	producer
Lynwood Spinks	....	executive producer
Jeff G. Waxman	....	associate producer (as Jeff Waxman)
Rachel Zimmerman	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Rolfe Kent

Cinematography by
Russ T. Alsobrook		(director of photography) (as Russ Alsobrook)

Film Editing by
Steve Edwards
Jeremy Roush

Casting by
Sharon Bialy

Production Design by
Christian Wintter		(as Pipo Wintter)

Art Direction by
Greg Berry		(as Gregory A. Berry)

Set Decoration by
Jon Danniells

Costume Design by
Deborah Lynn Scott		(as Deborah L. Scott)

Makeup Department
Rose Chatterton	....	key hair stylist: New York
Victor DeNicola	....	key hair stylist: New York (as Victor P. DeNicola Jr.)
Kathleen Freeman	....	key makeup artist
Araxi Lindsey	....	hair stylist: Mrs. Pinkett Smith
Ann Pala	....	makeup department head (as Ann Pala Taylor)
Thomas Real	....	department head hair
Nancy Tong	....	key hair stylist (as Nanxy Tong-Heater)
Toy Van Lierop	....	key makeup artist: New York (as Toy R. Van Lierop)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marlene Arvan	....	first assistant director: second unit, New York
Melody Beam	....	extra second assistant director
Thomas Coe	....	second assistant director: Los Angeles (as Thomas D. Coe)
Louis Guerra	....	second assistant director (as Louis J. Guerra)
Alexander James	....	additional second assistant director: second unit
Deanna Leslie	....	second assistant director: second unit (as Deanna Leslie Kelly)
Jamie Marshall	....	first assistant director
Michael T. Meador	....	second second assistant director: New York (as Michael Meador)
Shawn Pipkin	....	second second assistant director: Los Angeles
Kyle Rudolph	....	second unit director: New York (as Kyle C. Rudolph)

Art Department
Jeff Butcher	....	property master: New York
Matthew Cavaliero	....	property master
Denise Ciarcia	....	assistant property master
Danielle Clemenza	....	art assistant
Randy Culberhouse	....	general foreman
Nella Davies	....	decoration coordinator
John R. Elliott	....	construction coordinator
Tim Fassino	....	set dresser: Los Angeles/New York
Brian Feola	....	construction foreman
Adam Goodnoff-Cernese	....	assistant property master: New York
Alex Gorodetsky	....	charge scenic artist
Gina Herold	....	art department coordinator: New York
Chryss Hionis	....	set decorator: New York
Robert Kropfl	....	carpenter
Allan Lane	....	swing
Roger Lundeen	....	set designer
Bobby Mara	....	propmaker foreman
Mike Medina	....	construction foreman
Fred O'Connor	....	propmaker
Hollywood Nick Pagani	....	props: New York
Julio Palma	....	set dresser
Portia Perry	....	painter
Edmond Scott Ratliff	....	set dresser
Shane Reed	....	leadman
Michael Ruby	....	supervising signwriter
Kyle Salvatore	....	on-set dresser: New York
Nick Stanton	....	assistant property master
David Swayze	....	art director: New York
Kathleen Walker	....	art department coordinator: Los Angeles
Jim Wallis	....	set designer

Sound Department
David Bach	....	supervising sound editor
Thomas Causey	....	sound mixer
Carlos Delarios	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Carlos de Larios)
Brian John Gardner	....	foley editor (as Brian J. Gardner)
Marc Glassman	....	sound effects editor
Laura Graham	....	dialogue editor
Matthew P. Hanson	....	assistant sound editor (as Matt Hanson)
Pamela Kahn	....	foley artist
Richard Kite	....	sound utility
Howard London	....	adr mixer
Linda Murphy	....	boom operator
Kyle Rochlin	....	foley mixer
Cameron Steenhagen	....	dialogue editor
Clayton Weber	....	supervising foley editor
Elmo Weber	....	sound re-recording mixer
Elmo Weber	....	supervising sound editor
Gary Raymond	....	Pro Tools music playback and recording (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Wilfred Caban	....	special effects foreman: New York
Jason Dodd	....	special effects technician
John C. Hartigan	....	special effects coordinator (as John Hartigan)
Steven Kirshoff	....	special effects coordinator: New York (as Steve Kirshoff)
Chris Walkowiak	....	special effects foreman

Visual Effects by
Alexandre Cancado	....	compositor: Luma Pictures
Vincent Cirelli	....	visual effects supervisor: Luma Pictures
Chad Dombrova	....	technical director: Luma Pictures
H Haden Hammond	....	compositor: Luma Pictures
John R. Hazzard	....	animator: Luma Pictures (as John Hazzard)
Justin Johnson	....	compositor: Luma Pictures
Ntana Key	....	second digital colorist: EFILM
Jason Locke	....	matchmover
Valy Lungoccia	....	visual effects
Glenn Morris	....	visual effects producer
Ashok Nayar	....	visual effects coordinator: Luma Pictures
Pimentel A. Raphael	....	animator: Luma Pictures (as Raphael Pimentel)
Steven J. Scott	....	supervising digital colorist: EFilm
Gabe Shedd	....	visual effects staff
Payam Shohadai	....	visual effects supervisor: Luma Pictures
Joey Sila	....	compositor: Luma Pictures
Thanapoom Siripopungul	....	compositor: Luma Pictures
Thomas Mathai	....	data manager (uncredited)

Stunts
Danny Aiello III	....	stunt coordinator
Bill Anagnos	....	stunts
Chris Barnes	....	stunts
Tim Buchanan	....	stunts
Jared Burke	....	stunt double: Adam Sandler
John Cenatiempo	....	stunt driver
John Cenatiempo	....	stunt performer
Norman Douglass	....	stunts
Roy Farfel	....	stunt driver
Donald John Hewitt	....	stunt driver
Jery Hewitt	....	stunt coordinator
Kevin L. Jackson	....	stunt double
Jennifer Lamb	....	stunts
Joanne Lamstein	....	stunts
John Patrick McLaughlin	....	stunts
Mick O'Rourke	....	stunts
Janet Paparazzo	....	stunts
Michael Russo	....	stunts
Derrick Simmons	....	stunt double: Don Cheadle
Brian Smyj	....	stunt rigger
Brian Smyj	....	stunts
Erik Solky	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Steven A. Adelson	....	Steadicam operator
Steven A. Adelson	....	camera operator
Tracy Bennett	....	still photographer
Curtis Bradford	....	gaffer: Los Angeles and New York
Betty Chow	....	second assistant camera
Tim Collins	....	dolly grip: "a" camera
Howard J. Cournoyer	....	electrician
Julian J. Delacruz	....	assistant camera: second unit, New York
Daryl Didier	....	set lighting technician: Los Angeles
Jason Garcia	....	first assistant camera
Jeffrey M. Hall	....	gaffer: Los Angeles
Jay M. Huntoon	....	digital video assist operator: Los Angeles
Nils Johnson	....	digital video assist operator: New York
Scott Koche	....	camera production assistant
Eric R. Laudadio	....	additional first assistant camera
Cameron Lee Michael	....	electrician
Patrick Quinn	....	assistant camera: New York
Kyle Rudolph	....	director of photography: second unit, New York (as Kyle C. Rudolph)
Rigney Sackley	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
David Satin	....	digital imaging technician: New York
T. Daniel Scaringi	....	key grip: Los Angeles
Aaron Schulte	....	electrician
Richard Stevens	....	camera operator
Jason Young	....	rigging best boy electric
J. Dan Wright	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Claire Benjamin	....	extras casting
Kathy Kaplan	....	casting assistant
Jennifer Sabel	....	extras casting associate
Judith Sunga	....	casting associate
Grant Wilfley	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Leslie Brown	....	costumer: Mr. Sandler
Nancy Collini	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Ryan Helsley	....	assistant digital intermediate producer
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Michael Nouryeh	....	first assistant editor
Steven J. Scott	....	digital film colorist
Stephen R. Sheridan	....	color timer (as Steve Sheridan)

Music Department
Tony Blondal	....	orchestrator
Stephen Coleman	....	music programmer
Ross DeRoche	....	music copyist
Shawyne Fisher	....	choir coordinator
Trevor Gilchrist	....	music programmer: score
Greg Hayes	....	score recordist
Dave Jordan	....	music supervisor
Chet Leonard	....	music playback
Dan Savant	....	music contractor
Nick South	....	music editor
Greg Townley	....	score mixer

Transportation Department
Chris Haynes	....	driver

Other crew
Carlos A. Acosta	....	unit location assistant
Edward Allen	....	production accountant
Monica Barraza	....	assistant production coordinator
Bonnie Belknap	....	food stylist
Phil Besa	....	accounting clerk: Los Angeles
Bryan Binder	....	assistant: Mr. M. Binder
Jeremy Thomas Black	....	production assistant
Deon Boyce	....	production assistant
Lauren Brezner	....	assistant: Mr. M. Binder
Adam Butera	....	production assistant
Daniel Cabeza	....	production assistant
Chris Camuto	....	accounting clerk
Nick Carr	....	location assistant: New York
Barbara Casner	....	assistant production coordinator
Frank Cattano	....	assistant location manager: New York
Ricky Cuevas	....	first assistant accountant
Roberto De Jesus	....	production assistant: New York
Jacques Derosena	....	photo double
John DeSimone	....	production coordinator: New York
Nat Dinga	....	assistant: Mr. J. Binder
James R. Dunham	....	set production assistant: Los Angeles
Lichelle D. Ebner	....	stand-in: Rae Allen
Lauren E. Enfield	....	production assistant
Shayla Freeman	....	production assistant: second unit
Sean P. Galvin	....	set production assistant: Los Angeles
Timothy Goldberg	....	location assistant: New York
Joe Guest	....	location manager: second unit
Ronald E. Hairston	....	key craft service
Melanie A. Hall	....	set production assistant: Los Angeles (as Melanie Sheerer)
Elizabeth Hannah	....	production intern: New York
Paul Hargrave	....	location manager
James Hinton	....	assistant accountant
Rob Hoffman	....	set production assistant
Robert Hume	....	production coordinator
Patrice Karavas	....	office production assistant: Los Angeles
Ket Lamb	....	stand-in: Los Angeles
Nicole Diane Lederman	....	production assistant: New York
James D. Lee	....	location manager: New York
James Lesage	....	production assistant
Jonathan Loughran	....	assistant: Mr. Sandler
Faya Madrid	....	production assistant
Nicole Mandich	....	stand-in
Rosemary Morgan	....	set production assistant: Los Angeles
Fisher Pence	....	assistant: Mr. Rotenberg
Jennifer Perkins	....	assistant: Mr. Sandler (as Jennifer Masters)
Bronwyn Preston	....	unit publicist
Shane Ralston	....	stand-in: Adam Sandler
Nicole Real	....	assistant set production assistant
Johnny S. Renaudo II	....	post assistant accountant
Guillaume Renberg	....	remote head technician: New York
Ulises Rodriguez	....	production secretary: New York
Rick Roesch	....	payroll accountant
Loriel Samaras	....	set production assistant
Elyse Sams	....	set production assistant: Los Angeles
V.W. Scheich	....	production coordinator
Michael James 'Scotty' Scott	....	second assistant accountant
Maurice Sessoms	....	key set production assistant: New York
Daryl Sledge	....	production assistant
Jason Sugars	....	assistant: Mr. Cheadle
Nick Theodorakis	....	digital imaging engineer: Los Angeles
Scott Trimble	....	key assistant location manager: Los Angeles
Scott Trimble	....	location scout: Los Angeles
Paul Wielunski	....	production assistant
Matthew H. Wiesner	....	location assistant
Maxine Brooks	....	studio teacher (uncredited)
B.J. Smith	....	set medic: Los Angeles (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Relativity Media (in association with)
• Madison 23
• Sunlight Productions
• GH Three

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2007) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Nordic (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Luma Pictures (visual effects by)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes
• David Haddad  transportation equipment
• DeLuxe Laboratories  prints
• EFilm  digital intermediate
• Grant Wilfley Casting  extras casting
• Haddad's  transportation equipment
• Lakeshore Records  soundtrack
• Moonlight Post  titles
• Movie Movers  trailers
• Panavision  Genesis camera system
• Reel Team, The  loop group
• Sony Pictures Studios  post-production sound services
• Square Tite Entertainment & Marketing  casting

Also Known As:

Empty City (USA) (working title)
Reign O'er Me (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexual references.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:15 | Ireland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-11 | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | USA:R (certificate #42006) | Germany:6 | Sweden:7 | South Korea:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Brazil:12

Filming Locations:

Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Relativity Media

Trivia:

The scooter itself is just powerful enough to make it technically illegal in New York City, which permits electric scooters but has banned engine-powered ones like Charlie's. He's a bit of an outlaw.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In one of the scenes at Dr. Johnson's office, the second hand on the clock is not moving

Quotes:

Angela Oakhurst: Charlie, before you go, I'd like to say something. Look, the fact is you had a family and you suffered a great loss, and until you discuss that and we can really talk about that, this is all just an exercise. I can be patient, Charlie, but you need to tell someone your story. It doesn't have to be me, but someone.

Movie Connections:

Features Wanda to kyozô (2005) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Out in the Street

Remarkable film about Grief, Family, and Friendship

This film screened last night at Austin's Paramount theater as part of the SXSW Film Festival. We were graced with the presence of director Mike Binder and stars Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle who took audience questions after the film. It is a remarkable and powerful film about what it is like to lose yourself and begin to find your way back. The performances are phenomenal and the story manages to be both tragic and funny in a way that is all too rare. (The trailer for the film tries a little too hard to emphasize the comedic aspects.)

This is a breakout role for Adam Sandler. While he has begun to transition to more dramatic roles with Punch-Drunk Love and Spanglish, this role is a significant step forward for him as a dramatic actor. He deserves an Oscar nomination as he continues down to transition to more dramatic roles as Tom Hanks did and Jim Carrey is also doing. In this role, he seemed to be trying to channel Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. Although playing an autistic man is certainly very different than Sandler's traumatized character, both characters for different reasons are trapped in their own worlds of child-like isolation and confusion.

Don Cheadle's performance is less surprising, but just as good. After Hotel Rwanda and Crash, we've come to expect remarkable nuanced performances from Cheadle. He has the qualities of sincerity and honesty that comes through in this role. But he, too, is also broken and struggling if not in the such profound ways as Sandler's character. Cheadle is struggling with difficulties in both his marriage and in his professional life as a dentist. Together the characters played by Cheadle and Sandler struggle to heal each other in the way that true friends often do (in a way that reminds me of Matt Damon and Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting). They are both searching for that part of the themselves that they have lost and trying to find again.

Reign over Me is one of the best major studio films to be released this year. The soundtrack, which is almost another character in the plot is wonderful. The filming in the streets of New York - a city that suffered a great tragedy and has also had to heal itself - is also quite beautiful. The supporting roles by Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows (in a very odd role), Donald Sutherland, and Mike Binder himself are all quite good.

Writer/Director Mike Binder has really delivered a story that so many will be able to connect with on numerous levels. This is a story about grief, family, healing, male friendship, mental health, and the meaning of love. Reign over Me does not disappoint. The film is almost hypnotic as it draws you into the lives of its characters. Hollywood would have a much better reputation if it made more character-driven charming films like Reign over Me.