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| images courtesy WB |
At the core of the story is a climate ravaged society which exists in a flooded out Miami that sees Jackman's character using advanced technology to transport his clients back in time to their favorite memories. The premise is an interesting one but the execution is ultimately hampered by a melodramatic romance that subsequently falls flat due to its reliance on a repetitive script that's lined with themes we've all seen dozens of times before.
Joy's first cinematic effort plays like Christopher Nolan lite with its attempted deep dive into the psychosis and how our memories hold the key to our happiness. Defying anything that could be considered close to original, Reminiscence is a fleeting glimpse at an idea that could have been great in the proper hands. Instead, her film takes long strides to skim the outskirts of creativity, reveling in a dystopian future of high rises, selfish land barons, and a winding rabbit hole that leads to nothing but dead end doorways. Riding the Nolan wave of movies like Inception or Tenet, this newest WB feature film almost seems like it was made specifically for an HBO Max release because it never hits a cinematic stride.
Joy (Westworld) has something to say with her film but she never finds a foothold on her subject matter. There is definitely something deeper buried within but the final form of this film doesn't fully uncover the noir type tale she and her cast are trying to tell. It's not that it's horrid. It's just that anything and everything that goes on in Reminiscence is just another rendition of something that's been done better in the past.
Jackman's Nick Bannister is a military veteran who is now using a machine to bring his clientele back in time to re-experience their favorite memories. While Jackman is always a great sport no matter the script, the resulting product fails his skill level along with his co-stars. They each seem desperate to find some type of connection or emotional attachment to their respective roles. But Thandiwe seems to be out of her comfort zone, Ferguson is far too good for the script, and Jackman just flails in something that is far beneath his skill level.
Shades of other futuristic movies line the full runtime of Reminiscence, but there's nothing that pulls it altogether. And this overwhelming sense of sentimentality outweighs any small doses of action that we get. Joy seems to be hung up on love but never takes a chance on really giving us a true feel for the environment she's created. There's no world building or proper exposition. It's not that we want everything explained away. But some type of introduction to her future world would have been nice. Hopefully in the near future she can give us a better offering that doesn't just copy/paste.
Reminiscence plays like a bad, low level tribute to a future we don't know yet. Definitely skip the box office for this one and take up HBO's offer to watch it for free. The best parts of the movie are the fight scenes when we're reminded how dedicated Jackman is to physicality in his roles.
-CG
