{"id":23350,"date":"2021-08-19T11:14:07","date_gmt":"2021-08-19T18:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=23350"},"modified":"2021-08-19T11:14:07","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T18:14:07","slug":"reminiscence-looks-impressive-but-the-story-feels-soggy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=23350","title":{"rendered":"REMINISCENCE Looks Impressive, But the Story Feels Soggy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This film will be released in cinemas by Warner Bros.\non August 20 and will also be available for viewing on the HBO Max\nstreaming service.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new neo-noir science-fiction thriller Reminiscence<\/em> boasts impressive names behind the camera. This includes director\/writer Lisa Joy and producer Jonathan Nolan, creators of the hit HBO series Westworld<\/em>. As expected, the visuals are striking and the story offers limitless possibilities to investigate the nature, lure and fallibility of our deepest memories. There are some strong individual moments, but the narrative ultimately progresses in an overly familiar direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Set after a devastating war, ex-soldier Nick Bannister (Hugh\nJackman) now works as a businessman in a dystopian, dilapidated and waterlogged\nMiami. Using elaborate technology, he and his partner Emily \u201cWatts\u201d Sanders\n(Thandie Newton) offer clients the opportunity to spend time reliving their\nhappiest memories. Of course, the service is addictive and takes a great deal\nof skill to use safely. The pair also spend time working with the police and using\nthe recollections of suspects to solve crimes. One day, a charismatic woman\nnamed Mae (Rebecca Ferguson) arrives at their office asking for assistance in\nhelping her locate her keys. Sparks immediately fly and the two begin a romantic\nrelationship. But soon after, Mae disappears without a trace. Nick becomes\nobsessed with finding out what happened to her. He is soon shocked to discover\nthat she is connected to a local case involving a criminal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In some respects, the movie attempts to pay homage old film\nnoirs and employs a great deal of narration from the protagonist to the business\nand how it works. Some of the voice over dialogue is a bit stiff, but does help\nimpart a lot of information quickly and also sets up a surreal environment. Jackson\ndoes his best to effectively sell the concept of how becoming addicted and\nfocused on the past can potentially destroy one\u2019s future. Early on, the story\ngenerates plenty of tension from the concept and Nick\u2019s thoughts as viewers\nquestion what they are seeing and if any of it is actually happening or part of\nthe memories of a fractured mind. We\u2019re not quite sure if Mae is a femme fatale\nor an innocent victim. And there are a few interesting (if blunt) observations from\nNick about the falsehood of \u201chappy endings\u201d in the real world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Naturally, the film has a big water motif, from the memory chamber itself to the flooded streets of Miami. It\u2019s all impressive to behold as characters move through or sail down city streets backed by the neon glow of signage bouncing off of the water. There are other memorable shots, including one bit that features the protagonist struggling with a figure in a submerged theater. The photography is consistently impressive and the film makes a gorgeous dystopian travelogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite all the potential to delve into the minds of the\ncharacter, the screenplay instead becomes focused on solving Mae\u2019s\ndisappearance. And as things progress, certain elements become more and more\npreposterous. When a district attorney questions a suspect in a case, Nick\ntakes over the procedure without much retribution. The plot gets bogged down as\nthe protagonist learns more about the Mae\u2019s history and the individuals that\nshe crossed paths with. In fact, just about every client of Nick ends up being\nconnected in some way to the woman. It becomes an increasingly tough sell. And when\nall is ultimately revealed, the motivations of the antagonist end up feeling bland\nand conventional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reminiscence<\/em> wants to update classic film noirs by interjecting fresh and modern technology into the mix. However, in many respects the story could have also used an upgrade. With all of the great material involving twisted memories and its effects on our psyche, one wishes that the screenplay hadn\u2019t decided to emphasize the traditional crime story element. The movie has its moments, but by the final reel it all ends up feeling a big soggy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This film will be released in cinemas by Warner Bros. on August 20 and will also be available for viewing on the HBO Max streaming service. The new neo-noir science-fiction thriller Reminiscence boasts impressive names behind the camera. This includes director\/writer Lisa Joy and producer Jonathan Nolan, creators of the hit HBO series Westworld. As expected, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":23355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[206,6269,7528,9464,13679,14523,14670,16758,16854,16855,16856,16857,17775,19800,22825],"class_list":["post-23350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-206","tag-dreams","tag-film-noir","tag-hugh-jackman","tag-memories","tag-mystery","tag-neo-noir","tag-rebecca-ferguson","tag-reminiscence","tag-reminiscence-film-review","tag-reminiscence-movie-review","tag-reminiscence-review","tag-science-fiction","tag-thandie-newton","tag-thriller"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23350\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}