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Reminiscence (2021 film)

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Reminiscence
Release poster
Directed byLisa Joy
Written byLisa Joy
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPaul Cameron
Edited byMark Yoshikawa
Music byRamin Djawadi
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • August 11, 2021 (2021-08-11) (BFI IMAX)
  • August 20, 2021 (2021-08-20) (United States)
Running time
116 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$54–68 million[2][3]
Box office$16.4 million[4][5]

Reminiscence is a 2021 American neo-noir science fiction thriller film written, directed and produced by Lisa Joy in her feature directorial debut. Starring Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Thandiwe Newton, Cliff Curtis, Marina de Tavira and Daniel Wu, it follows a man who uses a machine that can see people's memories to try to find his missing love. Joy co-produced with her husband and creative partner Jonathan Nolan.

It was released in the US by Warner Bros. Pictures on August 20, 2021, with a month-long simultaneous release on the ad-free tier of the HBO Max streaming service.[6] It received mixed reviews, with critics praising its narrative ambition but comparing it unfavourably to similarly themed works like The Maltese Falcon and Inception. It was a box office bomb, grossing $16 million worldwide against a $54 million budget.

Plot

In a partially flooded future Miami, extreme daytime temperatures force most of the population to work at night. Recent war veterans Nick Bannister and Emily "Watts" Sanders operate a machine that allows clients to relive memories. One morning, a walk-in client, Mae, asks for their help finding her missing keys. On observing her memories of the night, Nick learns she is a nightclub singer, and feels a connection with her when she sings his favorite song, "Where or When". He begins a relationship with her, and when she disappears after a few months, he uses the machine repeatedly to relive memories of his times with her. Watts confronts him about this, but she also has a close attachment to Nick, an alcohol addiction, and an estranged daughter.

Nick and Watts use the same technology to help the state prosecution retrieve memories from suspects. In one such case, they discover that Mae was mistress to a New Orleans drug kingpin named Saint Joe, who addicted her to a narcotic called baca. These memories also reveal that a corrupt cop, Cyrus Boothe, worked for Joe, and that Mae stole a stash of Joe's baca before fleeing New Orleans for Miami.

On a trip to New Orleans, Nick confronts Joe, who has no news of Mae. He tells his men try to drown Nick, but Watts rescues him, killing Joe. Nick and Watts then use their memory machine to discover that Mae broke into the vault where they store clients' memories, and stole recordings of the memories of Elsa Carine, a client who relived trysts with Walter Sylvan, an older wealthy "land baron" who has recently died.

Nick's investigations reveal that Elsa had a son with Walter, but she was recently murdered by Boothe, and her son, Freddie, was kidnapped by Mae. After a confrontation, Walter's widow points Nick towards their location, where he and Boothe fight. Boothe almost drowns, but Nick rescues him and drugs him, then takes him back to his memory machine.

Boothe's memories reveal how he pressured Mae to seduce Nick and steal Elsa's memories: she researched Nick's background, and the lost keys were staged. Then they reveal how she came to love Nick, and how she took Freddie and fled to protect him from Boothe. Later, Boothe finds Mae and tries to force her to reveal Freddie's location. As Nick watches the memory of a speech Mae delivers to Boothe, he realises it is meant for him: she confesses her love for him, reveals the location of Freddie, then takes an overdose of baca and jumps off a balcony to her death.

Nick avenges her death by forcing Boothe to relive his worst memory of being burned by Joe's men. He also confronts Walter's legitimate son Sebastian, who hired Boothe to protect his inheritance. He then confesses to Watts that he intentionally "burned" Boothe's memories, a major crime. He is convicted, but is allowed to serve his sentence using his machine to relive his time with Mae thereafter. An older Watts reunites with her family, and watch as Nick recounts to Mae a shortened version of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, ending with the lovers reunited and happy on their way out of Hades, but before the usual sad end of the story.

Cast

Production

In 2013, Lisa Joy's screenplay for the film ended up on The Black List, an annual survey of the most popular unproduced screenplays. According to the survey, which polled over 250 film executives, her screenplay received 20 votes for "best" screenplay.[7] In January 2019, it was announced that Joy would make her directorial debut with the film, which would star Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson.[8] In March 2019, it was reported that Warner Bros. had bought distribution rights to the film.[9] In August, Thandiwe Newton joined the cast.[10] Daniel Wu, Angela Sarafyan, Natalie Martinez, Marina de Tavira and Cliff Curtis joined in October.[11][12] Filming began on October 21, 2019 in New Orleans and Miami.[13][8] In August 2020, Newton's daughter Nico Parker was also revealed to be in the cast.[14][15]

Release

Reminiscence was released by Warner Bros. Pictures[16] in the United States on August 20, 2021.[6] It premiered at BFI IMAX on August 11, 2021.[17] As part of its plans for all of its 2021 titles, Warner Bros. simultaneously streamed it on the HBO Max service in the United States for one month, after which it was removed until the normal home media release schedule period.[18] According to Samba TV, an estimated 842,000 households streamed it over its first three days,[19] and during the month it was seen in over 2 million US households.[20] It was re-added to HBO Max on January 29, 2022.[citation needed]

Reminiscence was originally scheduled to be released on April 16, 2021,[21] before the slot was replaced by Mortal Kombat and the former film was left undated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22] It was later rescheduled for theatrical release in the US on September 3, 2021, and internationally on August 25, 2021.[23] The US date was then moved to August 27 to avoid competition with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, then again to August 20.[6]

Reception

Box office

Reminiscence grossed $3.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $16.4 million.[4] Variety estimated that it needed to gross around $110 million to break even.[2]

In the US and Canada, it was released alongside PAW Patrol: The Movie, The Protégé, The Night House, and the limited release of Flag Day, and was projected to gross around $3 million from 3,184 theaters on its opening weekend.[24] It made $675,000 on its first day and went on to debut to $2 million, finishing ninth at the box office[3][25]—the all-time worst opening by a film playing in over 3,000 theaters, passing The Rhythm Section's $2.7 million debut in January 2020.[26] It fell 59% in its second weekend to $792,408.[27]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 36% of 199 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "Although Reminiscence isn't lacking narrative ambition, its uncertain blend of sci-fi action and noir thriller mostly provokes memories of better films."[28] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 46 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[29]

Writing for Variety, Owen Gleiberman called the film "a perfectly calibrated two-hour mirage of things we've seen before" and said that, "it's very Blade Runner: The Streaming Series, with maybe a stray hint of The Godfather. Outside, the flooded Miami landscape, with buildings and byways still visible, evokes a kind of Waterworld Lite crossed with a Hunger Games sequel."[30] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, and wrote "It's The Maltese Falcon meets Inception somewhere in the Vanilla Sky on the way to Chinatown in the inventive and ambitious but wildly convoluted and ultimately disappointing sci-fi noir Reminiscence, which careens this way and that, and this way and that, before running off the rails."[31]

Writing for The Playlist, Nick Allen gave the film a B+, calling it a "gem" that was "packed with intellectual and emotional thrills." He praised Jackman and Ferguson's performances, noting that Ferguson had been "ramping up for a role just like this."[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Reminiscence (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. August 8, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca (August 23, 2021). "Hugh Jackman's 'Reminiscence' Crumbles With $2 Million Debut, Highlighting the Struggle of Movies Aimed at Older Audiences". Variety. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  3. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 21, 2021). "'Free Guy' Holding Up Against Pandemic With $17M+; 'Paw Patrol' Arrests $13M+ – Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Reminiscence (2021)". The Numbers. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  5. ^ "Reminiscence (2021)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Grobar, Matt; D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 3, 2021). "'Reminiscence': Warner Bros. Sci-Fi Pic From 'Westworld' Co-Creator Lisa Joy Going A Week Earlier In August". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  7. ^ The Deadline Team (December 16, 2013). "Black List 2013: Full Screenplay List". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 30, 2019). "Hot Berlin Pic: 'Westworld's Lisa Joy Directs Hugh Jackman & Rebecca Ferguson In Sci-Fi Thriller 'Reminiscence'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 1, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  9. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 1, 2019). "Warner Bros Lands Worldwide Rights To Lisa Joy-Directed 'Reminiscence'; Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson To Star". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 2, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  10. ^ Kroll, Justin (August 23, 2019). "Thandie Newton Reteams With 'Westworld's' Lisa Joy on 'Reminiscence' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  11. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 22, 2019). "Hong Kong Film Star Daniel Wu Joining Lisa Joy-Helmed 'Reminiscence' With Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson". Archived from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  12. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (October 25, 2019). "'Westworld's Angela Sarafyan, Natalie Martinez, Marina De Tavira, Cliff Curtis Join WB's 'Reminiscence' Thriller". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  13. ^ "Reminiscence". Production List | Film & Television Industry Alliance. September 23, 2019. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  14. ^ Casely-Hayford, Alice (Mar 23, 2020). "Thandie Newton talks power, prejudice & Westworld season 3". Net-A-Porter. Archived from the original on 2020-08-22. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  15. ^ "Nico Parker - Curtis Brown". Curtis Brown. Archived from the original on 2020-08-22. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  16. ^ Handler, Rachel (August 19, 2021). "Hugh Jackman's Unquenched Thirst for Women Displaced in Time". Vulture. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  17. ^ Rantala, Hanna (August 12, 2021). "Hugh Jackman chases memories in submerged Miami in 'Reminiscence'". Reuters. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  18. ^ Rubin, Rebecca; Donnelly, Matt (December 3, 2020). "Warner Bros. to Debut Entire 2021 Film Slate, Including 'Dune' and 'Matrix 4,' Both on HBO Max and In Theaters". Variety. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  19. ^ @samba_tv (23 August 2021). "How much viewership did #HBOMax's latest same-day release bring in? 842k US households streamed the sci-fi thriller…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 3, 2022). "With Tentpoles Bound To Surge The 2022 Box Office, The Great Theatrical-Streaming Day & Date Experiment Goes Out Like A Dud In 2021". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  21. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 20, 2020). "'The Batman' Flies To Fall 2021, 'Sopranos' Prequel Moves To March & More As Warner Bros. Makes Release Date Changes Due To COVID-19 Climate". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  22. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (December 14, 2020). "Warner Bros. Shifts 'Mortal Kombat,' 'Tom and Jerry' Release Dates". Variety. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  23. ^ Vlessing, Etan (19 February 2021). "Warner Bros. Sets Release Date for Hugh Jackman's 'Reminiscence'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  24. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 18, 2021). "'Free Guy' To Get Second Life At Box Office During Listless Late August Weekend". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  25. ^ Moore, Sam (August 23, 2021). "Reminiscence: Hugh Jackman thriller becomes one of the biggest box office flops in history". The Independent. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  26. ^ "Worst Wide Openings By Release Scale". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  27. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 29, 2021). "'Candyman' Makes The Box Office Taste Good With $22M+ Opening". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  28. ^ "Reminiscence". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 2023-06-20. Edit this at Wikidata
  29. ^ "Reminiscence". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  30. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (August 5, 2021). "'Reminiscence' Review: Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson in a Sci-Fi Noir Love Story That's Déjà Vu All Over Again". Variety. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  31. ^ Roeper, Richard (August 18, 2021). "'Reminiscence': Too bad Hugh Jackman's sci-fi noir about a memory machine is so forgettable". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  32. ^ Allen, Nick (August 18, 2021). "'Reminiscence': Lisa Joy's Nostalgic, Noir-Inspired Gem Is Packed With Intellectual & Emotional Thrills [Review]". The Playlist. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
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