Director Lisa Joy reunites The Greatest Showman co-stars Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson in Reminiscence from Warner Bros. Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman), a private investigator, navigates the minds darkly fascinating world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the sunken Miami coast fringes, his life is forever changed when he takes on a new client, Mae (Rebecca Ferguson). A simple matter of lost and found becomes a dangerous obsession. As Bannister fights to find the truth about Mae’s eventual disappearance, he uncovers a violent conspiracy and must ultimately answer the question: how far would you go to hold on to the ones you love?
As my wife and I walked into the theater to view Reminiscence, she casually asked what the film was about, leading to my reply of “I don’t exactly know”. My interest in the movie was the acting talents of the leads Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson. Reminiscence starts promising enough with some impressing opening visuals of the sunken Miami coast. We meet Jackman’s character doing his best Sam Spade impersonation. Before long, we meet Nick’s partner and former battle buddy Watts (Thandie Newton).
We get a few glimpses of Nick and Watts at work, with the validation of how good the duo is at their job and that they have a general passion for the work they do. One day, a lounge singer walks into Nick’s establishment, and they have an instant attraction that leads to a relationship. However, much to Nick’s dismay, Mae disappears without a trace. Nick must now use all of his skills to track down his lady love.
The list of Reminiscence’s plot involves Nick trying to track Mae and unravel the bigger mystery afoot. That said, Reminiscence is a film that requires you to pay attention, or you will miss the little details. Every time I thought the film would go one way, something would happen to throw my assumptions out the door. Hugh Jackman does fine as our lead, while Rebecca Ferguson is her usual enjoyable self. I found immense enjoyment in Thandie Newton, and the way she handles her action sequences as a sharpshooter that took me aback. I say give Mrs. Newton more action roles.
Lisa Joy, primarily known for the show Westworld, makes a decent debut with Reminiscence. I did get some Westworld vibes from watching the film. Reminiscence is, without a doubt, not for everyone, and frankly, you will either like the movie or you won’t. I, for one, enjoyed Reminiscence for what it was and as a one-time watch.
Final Grade C-
Reminiscence is in theaters now and streaming on HBO MAX until September 20th.
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Writer-director Lee Cronin made an impressive feature film debut in 2019 with “The Hole in the Ground” and followed it up with a fresh and gruesome installment in the “Evil Dead” franchise, “Evil Dead Rise”. However, due to adult responsibilities, I missed his third film in theaters. The mixed reviews and rumors of a troubled production have me concerned.
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