Reminiscence (2021 | USA | 116 minutes | Lisa Joy)
An audacious directorial debut from Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy, Reminiscence drops Hugh Jackman into a science fiction-noir that is less hard boiled and more of a light simmer.
With that in mind, Reminiscence certainly swings big by trying to meld genres and was entertaining, though mostly in just seeing how it goes for so much more than I had expected. It all centers around a key device, The Reminiscence, that gives the film its title. The machine allows Jackman’s private investigator Nick Bannister the ability to see into the memories of those that take the plunge in a small pool of water while he looks through their lives.
Mostly, Nick uses the machine to run his own business that gives clients a hit of nostalgia from their past when their present has mostly gone downhill. Repeated references to a flood that has forever altered Miami with water covering the streets and surrounding low-lying areas ensures there are a steady stream of escape-seekers. Nick offers this service with the heavy drinking Watts, a dedicated Thandiwe Newton, who works as his assistant in delving deep into their memories. It is Watts who will also attempt to pull Nick out of a deep obsession that threatens to consume him.
This is due to a mysterious new client named Mae, played by a layered Rebecca Ferguson, who shows up looking for help to find missing keys. She soon forms a passionate relationship with Nick, but vanishes without a word almost as quickly as it started. Her disappearance sends Nick into a spiral of pain and confusion, which he aims to solve by looking into the past they shared together, obsessing over detail after detail in the hopes of finding answers to why she would have left. This deep dive into the underbelly of the city ends up drawing him into a world of corruption and subterfuge lurking just beneath the mirage of polite soceity.
If this all sounds familiar, that is because it is. Reminiscence, much like the characters within it, frequently looks to the past for inspiration and meaning. There are the science fiction elements in regards to setting and technology, though the central focus is a throwback noir film. It comes complete with Jackman giving prolonged observations in voiceover about the state of the world, the city, and what he believes drives people. He tries to wax poetic about the past being “a bead on the necklace of time,” which is a line that is unintentionally hilarious the more he says it.
There are glimpses of intentional humor throughout the film, mostly to keep the tone feeling a bit lighter in some of the more dour moments, though they can’t hold a candle to some of the more absurd leaps the film makes. The best descriptor would be to call much of the acting and story aggressively hammy. To its credit, the film wears these influences on its sleeve and goes all out in embracing them. It still meant that by the conclusion, it was hard not to chuckle at how it all came together in a manner that was both too tidy and too chaotic at the same time.
It is too neat in how it often over explains information to the audience. One particular reveal heavy-handedly explains a figure who was pretty clearly established as someone we had seen before. However, because the film doesn’t seem to trust the audience, it goes back and makes sure you didn’t miss something that was incredibly obvious rather than leaving it as-is. Such explanations bog the film down with a sense of tedium, repeatedly hitting you over the head with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer to tell you what is going on. This reaches a fever pitch when Jackman monologues incessantly about the underlying subtext with no sense of nuance.
Yet it is that complete and utter lack of restraint that ensures Reminiscence is a unique artifact. It makes the film a memorable experience because of just how outlandish it becomes. The experience is not engaging due to it being well crafted. Rather, it just ratchets up the absurdity and melodrama past its breaking point. Unfortunately, what tension the film does establish fizzles and burns out without fully realizing its full impact. There was a lot of potential, especially in regards to the climate disaster and flooding that are flagged yet never fully excavated. It still is an interesting visual backdrop, albeit a shallow use of it.
Despite all that, Reminiscence has the feel of one of those films you will remember for the sheer ‘what the hell was that’ and ‘why on earth did they do it like that’ effect of it all. The film is brimming with moments that strain credulity and stick with you precisely for that reason. It is by no means a good movie, though it could never be called a timid one.
Reminiscence is in theaters and on HBO Max starting August 19.
Header image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures