Reminiscence

Directed by Lisa Joy, Reminiscence transpires in a futuristic landscape overrun by water and follows grizzled private investigator Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman) as he attempts to solve the disappearance of his lover (Rebecca Ferguson’s Mae) using memory-reading technology. It’s an intriguing premise that is, for the most part, employed to hopelessly underwhelming and uninvolving effect by Joy, as the first-time filmmaker, working from her own screenplay, delivers a sluggish drama that grows less and less interesting (and coherent) as time progresses – which is a shame, certainly, given that the picture does boast its fair share of compelling elements. (Paul Cameron’s eye-popping visuals are certainly the most apt example of this, and it’s hard to deny that Reminiscence is, at least, always interesting to look at.) The arms-length atmosphere is perpetuated by a mystery that is, at its core, hardly as captivating and spellbinding as Joy has obviously intended, and although the movie admittedly contains a small handful of engaging interludes (eg a knock-down, drag-out fight between Nick and Cliff Curtis’ evil Cyrus), Reminiscence, saddled with an unconvincing romance between Jackman and Ferguson’s respective characters, builds towards a revelation-heavy yet entirely meaningless third act that ensures the whole thing fizzles out to a decidedly distressing degree – which does, in the end, cement the film’s place as an ambitious misfire that often feels as though it should be much, much better.

*1/2 out of ****