The past is one thing in our life that we can’t erase. It stays in our mind, in scattered ways, clinging to the memories and bursting now and then when something triggers it. If it is a happy memory, we want to relive it again, but if it is bad or traumatic, we want to bury it deep, trying to forget. But some things from the past can’t be forgotten; they become your obsession and shape you as a person. In Reminiscence, Nathan Bannister (Hugh Jackman), a private investigator who deals with the alluring world of the past, finds himself obsessing over a new client, Mae (Rebecca Ferguson), who changes his life and then vanishes without a trace.
It’s the future, where the water levels have risen to the point where there is no dry land remaining. The class divide has become massive, with the rich making their realm with all the money in the world, whereas the rest of humanity is living in the misery of daily struggles. Still, technology has advanced to the point where people can now access their past and relive a moment that gave them joy. Nostalgia is like a drug. For Nathan, Mae becomes that addiction. Life hasn’t given much to Nathan, except the gift of taking people on their journey to the past. He works with his war buddy Watts (Thandiwe Newton), who is as beaten in life as Nathan, with alcohol as her mate. One fateful day, Mae walks in asking for help. Nathan is struck by her beauty and immediately falls for her. For the first time in his life, he starts to feel happy. But that happiness is short-lived as Mae disappears, leaving Nathan to crumble as he fights to learn the truth about her.
Written and directed by Lisa Joy, Reminiscence is a familiar flavor of noir set in the world of science fiction. It is a story that opens with quite an eye candy set of visuals tempting you with the arrival of Mae. But the temptation ends there, with curiosity taking its place instead. As the search for Mae goes deeper, with each peeled layer Joy tries to knit a past for Mae with substance addiction only to lose its steam with predictability.
The ambition behind Reminiscence is massive, which is no surprise given that Joy is the co-creator of Westworld. Her love for film noir shines throughout the movie. But that love overpowers Joy’s reach for originality, which leaves you wondering if the world of science fiction is really needed here as it becomes an afterthought used for gimmicks. Joy’s focus lies in her characters, who all seem like they are carrying the burdens of the world. The action set pieces don’t give the thrilling kick which they desperately need. The only thing that seems to work as the story moves along is the nostalgia it gives you to watch classic noir films instead.
Jackman gives his all to a character who is searching for the love his soul needs to live. You can see in Jackman’s eyes the desperation, burned with obsession, as he leads Nathan down a path where he is clinging onto the hope of a happy ending. Ferguson is the highlight of the movie, as she takes on a character that is not only interesting, but complex in a way where the truth behind her disappearance only leads to more questions than answers. Joy takes enough care to make Mae much more than just a damsel in distress for the male character’s arc. Supporting Jackman and Ferguson is Newton, who holds her ground with the brutally honest Watts.
From a distance, Reminiscence seems like a perfect setup for a thrilling ride far into the future. Instead, it gets stuck in the influences of the past while barely using its futuristic setting. With a phenomenal cast which makes audiences take the leap only to be left with a memory they will forget as soon as they step out of the theatre, Joy misses out on her potential to make Reminiscence a worthy ride that everyone will want to revisit.
