Plot:
Reminiscence (which stars our very own and talented Hugh Jackman, aka Wolverine) is set in the future, taking place along Miami’s vanishing coastline. With the seas claiming the land at an alarming rate, the Earth now resembles Venice (but it’s not as appealing!). As climate change goes hand in hand with soaring high temperatures the likes of riots, violent acts, and looters take to the almost near inhabitable streets, causing chaos in the city. The movie shows the main characters clinging to the past, as it’s an escape back to normality.
The past is their only source of happiness, and so “Reminiscence” was created. A machine-like pod (resembling that of a tanning bed) which allows people, including Jackman’s character Nick to look back and see their memories in a very real-life sense to the point where they are entirely immersed in their memories as if they are real again.
As in other films, boy meets girl is the main storyline. And although this is the case, it isn’t your typical love story as the characters wind up in quite a few complicated and life-threatening situations with Jackman doing what he does best — fighting the bad guys.
Co-creator of Westworld and the Writer and Director of Reminiscence Lisa Joy says she only wanted to create the film if Hugh Jackman was the lead. She said before the production, “If he [doesn’t take the role], then I’m not going to do it, and I’ll just let the script languish because I’d rather see it not made than made poorly or with the wrong person”.
Jackman said he loved playing his character in the film. “There was so much to it and also working with Lisa was a joy because she was interested in all the depths and all the nuances and all the different angles of who this man [his character] is, who on the surface seems very sort of stoic and a classic masculine archetype that is really quite broken underneath”. He added that his character was very fun and challenging to play.
Review:
I was completely prepared to go into Reminiscence, thinking it would be an Inception type flick that I would have to invest heavily in to understand the confusing plots. And although I was impressed with the relatively easier than I thought storylines to follow and the creative subplots, the movie didn’t exactly hit the nail on the head for me. The love story and other plots (without spoiling anything) seemed quite rushed at parts which is disappointing as they had the moving pieces to make this a classic.
I thoroughly enjoyed the acting, the creativity put into the film, and the cinematic experience, but I can’t see myself sitting down and watching this one again any time soon. Though I wouldn’t let that put you off, as Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson’s acting is well worth the watch.
Catch the film Reminiscence at your local cinemas from August 19th
