MovieChat Forums > Reign Over Me (2007) Discussion > Did he really not recognize Alan at firs...

Did he really not recognize Alan at first?

posted 15 years ago by waters-9
2 replies | jump to latest

Loved this film.

I was confused by how Charlie seemed to have no recognition of someone he lived with for two years.
Did he really not recall or was he lying to keep his guard up.

I know he was blocking everything that would trigger memories of the tragedy, but Alan Johnson seems so unrelated to anything surrounding that part of his life.

Was that weird for anyone else?

His character was tragic. It must have been HELL to get through each day. I pray that those with PTSD don't have it to that extreme.

[–] Furie89 15 years ago

It's been a long time since they both depart from Dental College.Charlie has been in pain everyday since his family died,In order to ease the everyday pain he listens to music,play video games,eat his favorite Chinese food,go watch comedy movies at the theater.Since this is what Charlie does most of the time to ease the pain I highly doubt anybody can forget someone they knew 2 years back.

[–] hello-davidmccracken 15 years ago

Given the discomfort he endures when talking about his family, I think Charlie is trying everything he can to avoid a conversation relating to them. If he had avoided Alan, he would have avoided unwanted questions. It is these questions that he struggles with throughout the film.