Reign Over Me

Reign Over Me is a 2007 American buddy drama film written and directed by Mike Binder, produced by his brother Jack Binder, and starring Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, Saffron Burrows, and Mike Binder. The film follows the story of former college roommates and old friends Alan and Charlie, the latter of whom is struggling with mental health issues after the loss of his wife and daughters in the September 11 attacks. This was also Melinda Dillon's final film acting role before retiring from acting later that same year and her death in 2023. Distributed by Columbia Pictures, the film was theatrically released on March 23, 2007, and on DVD and Blu-ray on October 9, 2007. It is the first of two films produced by Madison 23, a drama subsidiary of Sandler's Happy Madison Productions. Plot After the Twin Towers went down in 2001, Charlie Fineman lost everything important in his life. Five years have passed since Charlie's wife and daughters died and now the once-successful and sociable man has become a withdrawn shadow of his former self. He does not discuss his loss, causing his in-laws to worry for his sanity, believing that he has struck the tragedy from his mind. When Charlie suddenly runs into his former college roommate Alan Johnson together once again on a Manhattan street corner, Alan is shocked to see just how far his old friend has fallen. Charlie's hair is long and he wears a headset constantly to let music drown out any mentions of his wife and children.