Reminiscence
Reminiscence takes us both to the future and the past. Climate change has inevitably come for us, the sea waters have risen and the harsh light of day is too much to handle. Society has become nocturnal, dusk marking the start of a new day. Unsurprisingly even in the future the rich continue to become richer and the poor stepped on and used. Said rich are safe and dry, and the poor living in the muddied waters.
Nick and his assistant Watts, played by Hugh Jackman and Thandiwe Newton respectively, are former army officers that use futuristic technology to help their clients look into the past. Back to better times when relationships were happy, times before the war, or to look for something that's lost. One client, Mae (Rebecca Ferguson), came in just looking for her keys. This simple case turns into so much more when Nick and Mae become entangled in love and mystery.
Reminiscence is an interesting directorial debut for Lisa Joy, supported by husband and creative partner Jonathon Nolan. The dystopian aspect feels simply tacked on, with little exploration of the world they were living in and no discussion of how humans may be fundamentally different as nocturnal creatures. It feels as though it can’t decide if it wants to be a sci-fi fantasy, a noir thriller or a love story, never quite reaching the depths of any of the three. However, the attention to detail with colour grading and sound design was superb, with many shots using panning and the bright sun for immersive flickering highlights.
Hugh Jackman’s performance was the highlight of this film. His nondescript accent is what sets him apart from other Australian actors who have tried to break into Hollywood. He truly knows how to play the brooding, broken man who is continually searching for the good.
There are subtle (and not so subtle) tones of addition throughout the film. Addition to drugs, to a person or simply to looking into the past. These addictions are portrayed fairly crassly throughout and are inevitably everyone's downfall.
The ‘obsessive love’ theme had a place, but ended up dominating the entire story more than it needed to. The audience is clearly meant to see Nick as the hero, but he’s essentially putting true justice at risk through this one-dimensional pursuit of solving the mystery of love and betrayal. The secondary story of solving a heinous crime and dismantling the inequities of this society is a mere afterthought.
While the film goes on longer than it needs to, it somehow still keeps the audience captivated for the majority. The action focussed scenes were fun and impact filled, but felt like they deviated from the tone of the film, especially with how long they went on for.
A lot of time was also given to over-explaining simple aspects of the story that the audience could have inferred themselves and leaving the more complex unexplained.
The film does leave you wondering, do you ever really know a person or only the version of them in your mind? And is it even worth knowing the truth? Because it’s never as good as fiction.
