Reminiscence – Film Review
Don't look back.
Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman), a private investigator of the mind, navigates the darkly alluring world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed when he takes on a new client, Mae (Rebecca Ferguson). A simple matter of lost and found becomes a dangerous obsession. As Bannister fights to find the truth about Mae’s disappearance, he uncovers a violent conspiracy, and must ultimately answer the question: how far would you go to hold on to the ones you love?
Is it just me, or has the marketing materials for Lisa Joy‘s Reminiscence been eerily reminiscent of Denis Villeneuve‘s Blade Runner 2049? Not only does the poster give off similar neon-drenched vibes but so did the trailer itself which presented the film as a sort of neo-noir psychological thriller that would take viewers to the deepest depths of the imagination. The rare kind of film that genuinely makes you think long and hard about its themes and storylines, but sadly, that’s not the kind of film Reminiscence is. Instead, it’s a disappointingly hollow film that only scratches the surface of its intriguing premise and leaves little room for exploration.
One of the best movies released in 2018 was Alex Garland‘s Annihilation, starring Natalie Portman. In that film, Portman’s character Lena is a biologist who signs up to embark on a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don’t apply. Not only was the film wonderfully weird and trippy, but it got down to the human psyche and asked difficult questions such as “What is the meaning of life?”.
Reminiscence looked like it would also be a film of depth that asks similar questions but sadly, the script from writer/director Lisa Joy never really commits to any of that. It also seems to think that strange and abrupt flashbacks accompanied by Jackman’s narration as smart and diverting when, in reality, it’s just tedious and boring.
It’s not awfully edited necessarily but it is a little confusing at times, oftentimes making me wonder what exactly happened and sometimes what the point of showing a certain scene was. Reminiscence feels like it never follows one story and goes through with it – it instead tries to branch out and tell certain events from different characters’ points of view which is respectable, but it doesn’t make for a clear, entertaining, or thrilling narrative. It’s jarring and annoying in more ways than one.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
I have to admit though, the world that is depicted in this film is visually stunning and the set pieces, as well as the CGI, are seamless here. There’s a ton of water flooding the streets of Miami while bright neon lights illuminate the dark night sky, creating a beautiful contrast and what is easily one of the best-looking movies of the year so far. It’s a visual feast to behold and you’ll find yourself wanting to see every corner of this bleak and color-soaked world.
And, of course, Hugh Jackman gives it his all and shines yet again. At this point, I’m convinced that Jackman is incapable of delivering a bad or even a less than average performance – when he signs on to do a project, you know full well that no matter what it is, he’s going to give it his all and the same thing can be said about his role as Nick Bannister in Reminiscence.
His character is definitely one of the most interesting of the bunch, and I wish we could’ve gotten to learn a little more about him throughout the course of the film. We do learn a few pieces of information about his life and career here and there, but there should’ve been a little more depth provided. Still, though, Jackman feels more fiery and energetic than ever here.
Rebecca Ferguson’s character Mae is the big mystery the film centers around so I won’t talk about her character a whole lot, but I will say that she is quite interesting as well, perhaps more interesting than Jackman’s character Nick. Ferguson feels intimidating here and like a force to be reckoned with. There were some creative choices that didn’t make a lot of sense but there were others that were quite strong along the way.
It’s so incredibly frustrating to watch a movie that has all the right puzzle pieces but somehow, they just don’t fit the way you thought they would. The performances here are all superb, the cinematography by Paul Cameron is beautiful and some of the characters are well-written but sadly, the script was the opposite of well-written. The most important part of any movie is a good story and this film did not have that. Reminiscence is not an awful movie, but it’s most definitely a wasted opportunity.
