The love in me

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Movie
German title The love in me
Original title Reign Over Me
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2007
length 124 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Mike Binder
script Mike Binder
production Jack Binder ,
Michael Rotenberg
music Rolfe Kent
camera Russ T. Alsobrook
cut Steve Edwards ,
Jeremy Roush
occupation

Reign Over Me ( Reign Over Me ) is an American film drama by Mike Binder from the year 2007 . Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle play the leading roles . The German theatrical release was on August 16, 2007. The film describes the story of two former college friends who meet again after a long time. One of them has given up his profession as a dentist and now lives in a world of his own after his wife and three daughters were killed in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 .

action

Alan Johnson works as a successful dentist . One day he sees a man on a scooter in the streets, whom he thinks he recognizes as his former college friend Charlie Fineman. He knows that his wife and three daughters were killed in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. It takes a while before Alan can get in touch with Charlie. But first he has to deal with the pushy patient Donna Remar. Johnson has also felt constrained in his marriage for some time. So he often takes the chance to intercept the young psychiatrist Angela Oakhurst, who practices in the same building, in front of the door to talk to her about "a friend's" marital problems.

After Johnson has rejected clear offers from the patient Remar, he is sued by the patient for alleged sexual harassment . The partners in the group practice are not happy about this and urge Johnson to sort this out.

At the same time, Alan Johnson also finds an approach to Charlie Fineman. At first he seems reluctant to think back to their time together as a student. Johnson endures Charlie's little quirks but with an angelic patience. Be it that he often walks around with headphones on or that he has loud breakdowns when something does not suit him. Nevertheless, the two are getting closer and closer. Johnson's wife, on the other hand, views her husband's behavior with increasing suspicion. More and more often Alan does not come home at night and prefers to spend it with Charlie playing the video game Shadow of the Colossus or in a punk rock bar. One day Charlie meets the patient Remar and seems to be completely fascinated by her. Johnson has another interview with her and she then withdraws her lawsuit.

Little by little, Charlie gives Alan insights into his life. Alan decides to help him. Then, unexpectedly, there is a stroke of fate for Johnson. After a Mel Brooks night with Charlie at the cinema, he learns that his father has died and that his wife has been trying to contact him for hours. Charlie Fineman doesn't seem to touch this message any further, he just asks Alan if they want to have breakfast somewhere else. Alan refuses.

A few days later, Charlie Fineman's accountant bursts into the memorial service because he wants to reprimand Johnson. He explains that he is unwilling to watch someone take advantage of Charlie's situation to get his money. He says Charlie wants to leave him a million dollars. Johnson declines the offer.

After a failed attempt to connect Charlie with a local psychologist , Alan turns to Angela Oakhurst. Together they try to break open the tank around Charlie Fineman. Initially, however, without any notable success, because Charlie thinks that Angela is far too young to understand anything. In Angela's practice, Charlie occasionally meets Donna Remar, who is also being treated by Angela. After several short sessions, Angela tells Charlie that he just needs to talk to someone, and that it doesn't necessarily have to be her.

Alan Johnson is waiting in her anteroom. Charlie begins telling him about his family, whom Alan never knew personally. Angela can also watch this conversation. In the evening, Charlie rummages through old cardboard boxes in his apartment. There he also finds a weapon. He threatens a taxi driver with this unloaded weapon in the hope that police officers sitting in a café will shoot him. But he is disarmed and beaten. The judicial authorities do not want to charge the widower, however , as treating someone who lost his family on September 11th in this way would throw a bad image on them . However, he is placed under a three-day psychiatric observation.

The doctors decide that further treatment in a closed ward would be required for another year. Both Johnson and Angela Oakhurst cannot accept this argument. There is a court hearing where the decision about the admission is to be decided. Charlie's parents-in-law also approve of this introduction, on the grounds that Charlie doesn't seem to have been affected by the death of his family at all. During the trial, the in-laws' lawyer tries to make it clear with pictures of the deceased family that Charlie shows no emotion. Charlie becomes increasingly insecure and receives several warnings from the judge. But Charlie's mother-in-law and her lawyer also receive a warning. The judge adjourned the hearing and asked the lawyers and the in-laws for an interview. He explains to them very clearly that he intends to regard this matter as more of a family dispute. He does not accept contradictions from the lawyer of the in-laws and he definitely forbids him to shut up. He asks the in-laws that they should think carefully about what their daughter would have wanted until the next appointment. Would she have had her husband admitted to a clinic?

Charlie Fineman is leaving his previous apartment and moving to a new one. His in-laws refrain from being admitted to a clinic. Alan, Donna and Angela visit him in Charlie's new apartment. Angela just stops by. While Charlie is playing a video game with Alan, he flirts with Donna. Alan later leaves the apartment. The doorman carries Charlie's gasoline-powered scooter after him. Alan calls his wife and tells her that he loves her. Then he drives the scooter into the night.

Reviews

Dietmar Kammerer is convinced of the drama, which tells of botched grief and unresolved anger with wit after 9/11 - with Adam Sandler, but without fuss. “Even his attempt to represent friendship with men beyond the usual, beer-like bar clubbing and similar embarrassments must be considered praiseworthy. To a certain extent, the third main character of the film is the city of New York itself - it has seldom been staged as engagingly as here. Above all, the rides on Charlie's motorized scooter through the streets of the (wonderfully car-free) Big Apple in the mild autumnal light look like a visual consolation for the wounds that have been inflicted. "

Jan Schulz-Ojala is impressed by the distance that the film keeps from September 11th. “All sorts of moderately believable and even grotesque subplots make the film smaller; but perhaps - apart from the strong central idea - for some viewers the grounding into the imperfect is just right. Above all Don Cheadle's mimetic and mimetic genius, who knows how to work wonderfully unobtrusively, wins for the film; and with him the beautiful hope that reliability, warmth and above all patience could be a means against the evils of this world. "

James Berardinelli wrote on ReelViews that the film had "best intentions" but that the attempt was "screwed up". The film is a “shameless” and “clumsy” “tear-presser”. The director misuses the tragedy of September 11th to increase the drama. Berardinelli also criticized the script and the portrayal of Adam Sandler, who was unable to credibly portray the change in the character played.

The lexicon of international films judges: “The allegorical examination of the trauma of September 11, 2001 is captivating thanks to two leading actors who complement each other in a dreamlike manner. Even if slip-ups dilute the dramaturgical concept, the film convincingly reflects the aftereffects of an emotional shock. "

background

The film was in Los Angeles , in Irvine ( California ) and in New York City rotated. Its production amounted to an estimated 20 million US dollars . The film opened in cinemas in the USA on March 23, 2007 and grossed around 19.7 million (approx. 21.4 million worldwide) US dollars there by April 29, 2007.

The video game to which Fineman and Johnson dedicate themselves vehemently in the film is Shadow of the Colossus for the Playstation 2 . In the game, the player takes on the role of Wander, a lonely young warrior who goes on a long journey to a distant land with his loyal horse Agro to save the life of a girl who was sacrificed to death. His goal is a temple in which a great power is said to be present that can bring the dead back to life. There he learns that he has to conquer 16 colossi that live scattered in this lonely land in order to be able to bring the dead back to life, to set free. Wander immediately agrees, saying that he would do anything to bring the girl back to life, and he sets off without hesitation to face his fate and the first Colossus to save the dead girl . This game plot is a direct metaphor for the 9/11 events and Fineman's own past. Fineman's deceased family members play the role of the girl who was sacrificed in the game. Fineman himself wants nothing more than to bring them back to life and the colossi symbolize the impossibility of this project. The world in Shadow of the Colossus is melancholy and empty, and the hero in the game is apparently the only inhabitant. This figuratively stands for Fineman's isolated life and the inner struggle with his unbearable grief.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Criticism by Dietmar Kammerer in the 'daily newspaper'
  2. ^ Criticism by Jan Schulz-Ojala in the 'Tagesspiegel'
  3. ^ Review by James Berardinelli
  4. The love in me. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 25, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  5. Filming locations for "Reign Over Me"
  6. Box office / business for Reign Over Me
  7. Reign Over Me premiere dates
  8. http://kotaku.com/246286/feature-the-colossus-and-the-comedian