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Reminiscence, the new sci-fi Neo-noir thriller directed by Westworld’s creator Lisa Joy, narrates the life of a veteran living in a dystopian world who offers people a chance to relive their memories. One day, a mysterious woman enters his life and brings a new life filled with distrust and obsession after she suddenly goes missing.
One of my most anticipated movies of the year, I was captivated by the mysterious atmosphere and intricate narrative that was displayed in the marketing. It seemed like a combination of Christopher Nolan’s visuals and ambitious storytelling with the gradual tension present in Hithcock’s narratives. However, the film instead delivered not only a very mediocre and unsubstantial attempt of a Neo-noir, but a very bland and forgettable sci-fi blunder.
The Good
To light up the mood before tearing the film apart, lets start with the elements that stand-out: the visuals. Much like other sci-fi movies of its kind, Reminiscence delivers many jaw-dropping wide shots that are really captivating. There seems to be influence of retrofuturistic genres like cyberpunk and atom punk, vividly displayed in the juxtaposition of mundane settings with highly advance technology, that really enhances the unoriginal narrative (we will get to that later). The costume design also goes along with that aesthetic, displaying apparels that feel distant from the time the movie takes place but that in a way seem to fit appropiately.
The Bad
Now, everything else in the film is either underwhelming or utterly bad. Beginning with the elements placed in the latter category, the biggest issue I had with the film involved the unimaginative script and the doltish narrative it told. The fictional elements seemed like the ideal setting for this kind of premise, yet somehow not a single moment felt tense or suspenseful. The story was extremely predictable and formulaic, following every trope of the genre possible; because of this, the tension was non-existint. Therefore, taking into account suspense is an essential element in a noir thriller, the film failed to deliver in the mystery aspect and consequentially became boring. It also didn’t help that by the third act, the intents of plot-twists were ridiculous and incomprehensible with the rest of the movie; despite not seeing them coming, by this point I was in such state of uttermost boredom that I really did not care about what was happening.
This languor can also be attributed to lack of interesting characterization. Aside from the fact that in my opinion both Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Fergusson are completely miscast and don’t have any believable chemistry, their characters as a whole where not remotely interesting. Jackman’s Nick lacked any redeemable qualities and most of the time came off as annoying and selfish, making it a tough task to root for him. Fergusson’s Mae had some potential at first, but as the mystery unfolds, her characters progressively became very bland and uninspired. The rest of the cast seem more like plot devices than real characters, and the villains are so effortlessly explored they are not even worth mentioning. With hollow characters and an uninventive story, the movie became a chore to watch.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, the film had an intriguing premise that was filled with potential, as evidenced at in the visual styling of the movie; but ultimately, the movie decides to exhibit it in the most bland and uninteresting way possible, making it a jarring experience to watch.
C+
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2021
12A
director: Lisa Joy
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Thandie Newton, Cliff Curtis, Marina De Tavira, Daniel Wu, Mojean Aria, Brett Cullen, Natalie Martinez, Angela Sarafyan etc
Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman), a private investigator of the mind. Navigates the alluring world of the past when his life is changed by new client Mae (Rebecca Ferguson) A simple case becomes an obsession after she disappears, and he fights to learn the truth about her. I was very disappointed with Reminiscence. It was very much a film of two halves.
My first few positives would be the fantastic cinematography. Interesting concept and idea. Great themes. As well as good character background, mystery and dialogue. This film had an interesting and unique visual style. Whether it was the creative slow mo’s or the beautiful colours and scope the film managed to create. With the concept of the reminiscence and the process behind it being a truly visually stunning element to the film. I thought the concept and idea itself was really interesting. I thought the concept of being drawn to old memories was really well explored. Highlighting the positive and negative side to its high concept in an interesting amount of detail. I also thought because of this, the film touched upon some good themes. The themes on grief and holding onto the past were explored in a unique and interesting way. Giving the film a good amount of depth to explore. I also thought the character background was great, it was fascinating to see a lot of these characters lives being shown to the audience so easily through their memories, it gave you insight into what their life once was and made you understand or sympathise with them. The dialogue was also very strong. Some of the dialogue had a lot of depth to it and made me think a lot about some of the themes and questions the film was asking the audience. Therefore, engaging me with the film as it made me think. Finally, I also thought the film built an interesting mystery in the first half. The character of Mae was mysterious and had this secretive nature to her that really built a very strong mysterious allure and tone.
However, my first few negatives would be the odd set up. Jarring shifts in time and rushed pacing. As well as unneeded scenes and underdeveloped and unlikeable characters. The film had a lazy set up between Mae and Nick. Having them meet for the first time because she lost her keys was just lazy and not very creative. Yes, it was explained more later, but they could have thought of something a bit more exciting than some lost keys. There were also some very jarring shifts in time. It was often very unclear on whether a particular scene was real or a memory. And they would often not set it up, so therefore when it was just a memory there was some very jarring changes when they suddenly went back to reality that really effected the pacing for me. There were also so many scenes that felt unneeded. A lot of scenes just repeated themselves or felt derivative of other works. And particular scenes which felt forced and thrown in for the sake of it. There was a lot of underdeveloped characters, the film added a new character into the mix far too often and couldn’t keep up with itself. A lot of the characters were involved with big twists but were hardly in the film which made a lot of the second half completely pointless. And the characters in general were unlikeable. Nick was rude, insensitive and frankly ridiculous with his actions and it made it hard to connect with him as a main character.
My final few positives are the chemistry and performances of the two leads. Some decent worldbuilding and twists. Some good development to the plot and action in the first half. And a likeable supporting cast. Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson both had fantastic on-screen chemistry. There chemistry was believable and fun to watch. Their romance was believable and the sexual tension between them both was very noticeable and well done. Both of their performances were also fantastic. Hugh executed a committed and passionate performance and once again proves how strong of an actor he is. Rebecca Ferguson was the true star, with a charming and enchanting performance that worked brilliantly for this kind of film, she played her role to perfection. Some of the worldbuilding was well done, the film expanded on its scope and story world well with a lot of new locations that were vital to the plot added to make the story more interesting. Some of the twists were also well executed. The twist with Mae and her dodgy past was interesting and added great development and a new layer to the film. Some of the action was also very strong. I wish there were more action scenes as the ones we did get were intense and entertaining and visually fascinating. I also thought the supporting cast specifically Thandie Newton was excellent. She bought some refreshing humour to the film and her dynamic with Nick was fascinating.
My final few negatives would be the clunky pacing and lack of reveals. The underdeveloped second half. The underwhelming reveals and how tonally confusing it was. And the poor ending. The second half was poor I am just getting that out there. The pacing was so clunky and there was just a lack of reveals. The second half was just so slow and didn’t go anywhere for so long. Without any meaningful development to the plot and characters and no reveals, leaving the audience in the cold for far too long. The second half was poorly written and just underdeveloped. It felt like they didn’t have a clue what they were doing. With poorly written characters and odd creative choices that completely changed the films direction far too often, and the structure was just all over the place. The reveals and twists were also extremely underwhelming. The film spent so long building a strong mystery over the character of Mae and what they ended up doing with her character completely got rid of all that mystery and lure that the film had in underwhelming and poorly written twists. The film also felt very tonally confused. Not really fitting into one specific genre to make itself stand out. With a blend of action, drama, sci fi and film noir that just didn’t blend well together. Finally, the ending was terrible. It was very repetitive and didn’t know when to end. Not really resolving most of the films plot and it felt like it ended multiple times.
Overall, Reminiscence has a fascinating visual style, a very strong first half and fantastic performances. But the second half was beyond poor. With terrible creative decisions, A plot that got too over complicated for itself. And it felt like they didn’t have a clue what they were doing. In an underwhelming and forgettable film noir/sci fi that isn’t in the league of the films it was trying to replicate.
Overall rating 56/100
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