The Big Picture

• Reminiscence intertwines pasts to create a powerful sci-fi love story with a tragic bond between leads.
• Hugh Jackman delivers an emotionally nuanced performance, while Rebecca Ferguson adds modernity and depth to the "femme fatale" archetype.
• Reminiscence underwhelmed at the box office due to Warner Brothers' "Project Popcorn" release strategy, but could still find a cult classic status.

The noir genre has been booming in popularity since the 1940s, and it's easy to see why. Ever since Humphrey Bogart made his debut as the snarky detective Sam Spade in John Huston’s classic crime thriller The Maltese Falcon, audiences have been enamored by hard-boiled mysteries that peek into the seedy underbelly of society. Often using cynicism and intricately-laden MacGuffins to comment on the era of their release, great noir films have evolved and intertwined with many other genres. The most famous may in fact be Ridley Scott’s 1982 classic Blade Runner, which retrofitted the structure of a classic “sleuth story,” yet set it in a sprawling urban metroplex that mirrored what current society could look like in a few generations. While it was largely underseen during its initial release window, the science fiction mystery film Reminiscence is a futuristic noir that may be far from Blade Runner's iconic status, but is still well worth your time.

What Is 'Reminiscence' About?

Set within a not-so-distant future version of Los Angeles where the ramifications of climate change force a majority of citizens to work overnight, Reminiscence explores the criminal practice of simulating memories. Although the technology that allows customers to relive critical moments from their past is not largely accessible, the ex-soldiers Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman) and Watts Sanders (Thandiwe Newton) operate a covert business that appeals to high-end clients. Although Nick has a strict policy of remaining emotionally distant from his potential clients, he can’t help but be intrigued by the enigmatic loner Mae (Rebecca Ferguson), who asks for his help in uncovering a mysterious key from her memories. Although it begins as a fairly standard cautionary tale of the future, Reminiscence intertwines its characters’ pasts to create a powerful science fiction love story. It's the tragic bond between the two leads that gives Reminiscence its strongest link to the neo-noir genre.

Reminiscence hails from writer/director Lisa Joy and co-producer Jonathan Nolan, best known for their work on the popular HBO adaptation of Westworld and their highly underrated hard science fiction mystery series The Peripheral. These projects serve as concrete proof that Joy and Nolan have a talent for world-building, as they can draw from aspects of society that are familiar, and imagine how easily they could morph into something more futuristic and potentially sinister. Avoiding abstraction altogether, Reminiscence is a grounded science fiction story that paints a realistic portrayal of how society might evolve. The notion of a seismic climate event changing the way that social infrastructure is laid out feels very close to reality; it’s also believable that the advent of technology that can access the past would be both highly popular and dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands.

Although the film spends a majority of its opening act setting up the sizzling romance between Nick and Mae, their prospects for a happy life together are soon thwarted upon the emergence of a criminal conspiracy. It’s revealed that Mae had a different life in New Orleans, and that both the corrupt cop Cyrus Boothe (Cliff Curtis) and the venomous gangster Saint Joe (David Wu) are keen to question her about the key’s appearance. What’s brilliant about the way that Joy and Nolan map out the story is that what the key unlocks is of little importance; as with any great noir film, the MacGuffin in Reminiscence is utilized only to put the characters in a place of vulnerability that tests their bonds. Once Nick realizes that Mae’s life is in danger as a result of her inadvertent involvement in this dangerous conspiracy, he’s forced to acclimate himself into the society that he’s long since abandoned.

Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson Have Great Chemistry in 'Reminiscence'

While Hugh Jackman has been closely associated with the X-Men franchise that has dominated his career since 2000, his role as Wolverine shouldn't overshadow his other excellent performances. Reminiscence allows Jackman to give one of his most emotionally nuanced performances to date, as Nick’s backstory is laden with tragedy. Although the use of the dream technology itself allows Joy and Nolan to identify the inciting moments in Nick’s past that caused him to be so cynical, his complete disenfranchisement with the notion of heroism is evident from Jackman’s performance alone. Although it’s hardly the first time that Jackman has played a jaded and violent character, he’s able to turn Nick into a tragic anti-hero who is impossible to not sympathize with.

Although the “femme fatale” archetype in noir films has been criticized as being reductive and outdated, Ferguson has real agency in her performance as Mae. It’s Mae’s decisions that are most critical in the story, as her decision to steal the key in the first place is what caused Joe and his goons to put a target on Nick’s back. The romantic chemistry between the two leads works extremely well, as it's understandable why these two loners would find something to relate to in each other. If hard sci-fi cinema is often accused of being too emotionally distant, Jackman and Ferguson add an element of modernity within their depiction of a doomed romance.

Why Was 'Reminiscence' So Underseen?

While the notion of a new sci-fi noir from the creative heads of Westworld seemed like a winning prospect for Warner Brothers, Reminiscence underwhelmed at the box office due to mitigating circumstances. Released in the summer of 2021 when COVID-19-related shutdowns had affected many key theater chains, Reminiscence was included in HBO Max’s “Project Popcorn” plan that sent potential blockbusters like Dune, The Suicide Squad, Judas and the Black Messiah, and Godzilla vs. Kong to a simultaneous day-and-date release on streaming and in theaters. Unsurprisingly, Reminiscence’s strange release resulted in it being largely ignored.

While it's unfortunate that such a bold piece of original filmmaking was thwarted by an ineffective release strategy, great science fiction films can become cult classics after disappointing theatrical runs. Despite being considered box office bombs upon their initial debut, films like The Thing, Starship Troopers, Donnie Darko, and even the original Blade Runner are now considered classics. Who knows? Perhaps Reminiscence will find a similar legacy.

Reminiscence is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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