155. Sure, death cannot stop true love, but life is pain without you

Rob Reiner, the actor, film director, and a known critic of US President Donald Trump, was found dead along with his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, in what appears to be a homicide. The pair were married for 36 years.

The director of films like When Harry Met Sally, Misery, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, and This is Spinal Tap, reportedly suffered wounds in a knife attack.

Reiner’s son, Nick, aged 32, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. It was Reiner’s daughter who discovered her father’s body. Nick had struggled with drug addiction, entering rehab for the first time at age 15.

Nick’s experiences inspired the film Being Charlie, a drama co-written by Nick and directed by his father, which portrays the teenage son of a Hollywood star as he navigates addiction. 

Reiner died about two weeks ago, and since then, I have been following the newspapers for more details, but I have not found anything more about the killing to date.

In my mind, his face emerges from the popular movie The Wolf of Wall Street.

Few people may have noticed that Reiner played a supporting role in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, where he portrayed Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Jordan Belfort's father. He effectively depicted a man who loved his son, was proud of his accomplishments, but also understood the inevitable downfall that lay ahead.

Usually, when someone dies, even your enemy, you are either silent or say only good words. But Donald Trump, being Trump, said something I didn’t like, and I know no one else would. It only shows his apparent lack of empathy. 

After the Reiners’ killing, President Donald Trump posted: “Rob Reiner’s death was due to the anger he caused others. His death was due to his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind-crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession with President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before.”

This self-obsessed American President will go down in history as someone who never deserved the role and as a symbol of stupidity and a lack of basic decency. 

I've often claimed to be his fan, but occasionally I ask myself why I give him so much attention just because he's successful, driven, and energetic.

Unlike Trump, Rob Reiner will be remembered for his films, which not only entertained us but also revealed our hidden emotions and ignorance of personal themes, as exemplified in his masterpiece, Misery.

Reiner was also an activist and cofounded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which initiated the court challenge that led to the lifting of the ban on same-sex marriage in California. 

He once lamented the plight of the little-movie movement, saying that “studios are looking for hundreds of millions of dollars in profit and that you’re not going to get it with a little movie … I came into this business to express myself and tell stories, not just churn out a product.”

In an essay in the New York Times, Martin Scorsese paid tribute to Reiner, saying, “Right away, I loved hanging out with Rob. He was hilarious and sometimes bitingly funny, but he was never the kind of guy who would take over the room. He had a beautiful sense of uninhibited freedom, fully enjoying the life of the moment, and he had a great barrelling laugh.”

Meg Ryan, who brought Sally to life on screen in ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ said, “Thank you, Rob and Michelle, for the way you believe in true love, in fairy tales, and in laughter. Thank you for your faith in the best in people, and for your profound love of our country.”

Reiner’s run from 1984 to 1992 is the sort of thing most directors can only dream of. He was nominated for four Golden Globes for Best Director and for three Directors Guild of America Awards.

When Harry Met Sally is often ranked among the best romantic comedies of all time, but my favorite is The Princess Bride, in which William Goldman crafted a kaleidoscopic fantasy world full of heroism, revenge, romance, and magic, and where every line sings. 

I remember a quote from The Princess Bride: “Sure, death cannot stop true love, but life is pain without you.”

Yes, life is pain without our loved ones, music, poetry, and, of course, such excellent films.