"Reminiscence" felt like a story of heavily disjointed parts. The film just never gelled together to a satisfying whole coming off as different pieces of thought-provoking ideas and even different films that may have inspired it. While it has a lot to say about the possible future of humanity, the journey just falls short of its potential.
In the future, most of Miami has sunked underwater. To cope with the catastrophe that led to this, people are looking back to memories of their past lives before the flood. Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman) works as a private investigator of the mind who helps his clients access their memories and unlock the past. His life is forever changed when he takes on a beautiful client, Mae (Rebecca Ferguson), who Nick falls head over heels. As the two develop a deep relationship, Mae suddenly disappears. Nick becomes obssessed in trying to piece together why Mae left and eventually uncovers a violent conspiracy.
Intellectual, futuristic, and yet grounded. On paper, "Reminiscence" was supposed to be our kind of film. It had all the elements to make it outstanding but sadly it isn't and it was quite far off even. The crux of the problem in our opinion was its overall writing. First off, the main mystery was something that just didn't grab us and we coulnd't find ourselves being invested on it primarily because there wasn't a main antagonist that we could anchor onto. The world building of a futuristic Miami underwater also lacked that oomph. It was stunning for sure but it severely lacked character and life. It had a dull and colorless facade and it could have any other city in the world if it wasn't explicitly mentioned as such. All is not bad in "Reminiscence" because it had stellar performances from its cast. Hugh Jackman, Thandiwe Newton and Rebecca Ferguson in particular made the film highly-watchable even with its problems. It's a shame though that with its noir roots, Hugh Jackman was narrating endlessly that became a distraction for us. At the end of the day, "Reminiscence" had the basic thought-provoking ideas in check. But the actual content, development and execution of these ideas had no substance, lacking and disappointing. What a shame.
Rating: 3 reels
Why you should watch it:
- has a lot of cool and thought-provoking ideas
- Rebecca Ferguson was an angel literally
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the film just never felt cohesive or whole
- the narrative was disappointing considering its potential
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