9/11 has always been a terrible tragedy. Many mourned and asked "Why?". Even after more than a decade, people still feel the aftermath (which confuses me because Pearl Harbor was worse and we don't mark that on our calendars every year, but I digress). Two movies that show the effects of 9/11 well are Reign Over Me and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Let's begin with the first one. Spoilers will be everywhere so read at your own risk.
In Reign Over Me, Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle) is a dentist who tries to help his old collage friend Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler)overcome his unhealthy grief. The grief is caused by Charlie losing his whole family (Wife and 3 Daughters ages 5, 7 and 9) in 9/11. They were passengers on one of the planes that hit.
Alan begins to rekindle his friendship with Charlie because he needs friends, but starts to see Charlie's problem. Afterwards, Alan does all he can to help him. Charlie's condition however is so bad that whenever you attempt (or Charlie thinks you attempted) to talk about his family or 9/11, he loses it. Charlie proceeds to yell and break things because he doesn't want to talk about his family. He claims to "not remember" in an attempt to push it away. Eventually, Alan's psychologist friend Angela Oakhurst(Liv Tyler)attempt to help Charlie and in time got Charlie to tell his story, to Alan.
This movie shows a perfect representation of an average 9/11 victim who needs more help that you might think. It shows how outside sources attempt to get involved, and fail. It even gives an example of when they give up and want suicide. Next, another good 9/11 film.
In Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) goes on a quest to find the lock that fits a key he found in his father's old belongings. His father, Thomas Schell(Tom Hanks), died in the World Trade Center during 9/11 and Oskar never got over it. When the key was found, however, all that changed. Oskar felt closer to his father that ever after his death because he felt that when he found the matching lock, he will feel closure. Oskar has only the name "Black" to go on for his hunt.
With the help of an old man known only to Oskar as "The Renter"(Max Von Sydow), who later turns out to be Oskar's Grandfather, Oskar goes on a quest for over 3 months to find the owner but fails. When Oskar does learn of the owner, who was William Black(Jeffrey Wright), Oskar gives him the key but is disappointed beyond relief due to there being no real closure at the end. Oskar does open up to William about some things that bothered him about his father's death (including how Oskar didn't answer the phone when his father called). When Oskar gets home, he is full of sadness over how pointless his quest seemed. Thanks to his mom, Linda Schell(Sandra Bullock), Oskar learned that his mom could do the same cool adventures that he did with his father and that his mom was secretly helping him the whole time.
In my opinion, both movies were amazing. Both showed great and strong sides of 9/11 and how victims coped with their losses. I liked Reign Over Me more due to it being a little more accurate in showing the typical 9/11 victim and having a slightly more powerful story. Again, my opinion so don't hate. I suggest that you watch both films though. Goodnight Everybody!
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