Cliff Curtis | Screenlife Reviews

Film noir is largely absent from studio filmmaking nowadays, with the once prolific genre now existing as little more than beloved classics and cult hits, with the occasional modern indie film daring to journey into the territory. Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy should be commended then, on reviving the genre in a relatively big-budget way with Reminiscence: a sci-fi tinged love story wrapped around a murder mystery. Though while the Hugh Jackman-starring film looks incredible and features plenty of exciting futuristic concepts, it never coalesces into anything other than a fairly predictable mystery, albeit one buoyed by great performances from Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson.

In the aftermath of a global warming event that has partially flooded the world and sparked a series of wars for dominance over the remaining dry land, Nick Bannister (Jackman) and his veteran buddy Watts (Thandiwe Newton) operate a business out of the shady, waterlogged side of Miami that allows customers to re-experience important memories in vivid detail. When the enigmatic and mysterious Mae (Ferguson) pays a visit to her memory in order to locate a set of lost keys, Nick falls hard, with the pair soon becoming inseparable. Nick’s run of bad luck seems to be on the turnaround thanks to his relationship with Mae, until she abruptly vanished without a trace, leaving him distraught and desperately revisiting his memories in search of a clue that will help him reconnect with her. Just as Nick begins to put the past behind him, he uncovers a sinister clue hiding in someone else’s memory; a clue that pushes him down a dark path to uncovering Mae’s secrets and losing himself to obsession in the process.

The opening few minutes of Reminiscence do a fantastic job of introducing you to this unique world, with Jackman’s classic noir voiceover quickly familiarising you with the strange waterlogged city and its seedy inhabitants. Miami looks amazing, with vivid neon signs and lights reflected off the flooded streets back onto the people wading through them in knee-high rain boots. The streets themselves are lined with facades of buildings are pulled straight out of noir films of the early 40’s and 50’s, but with a distinctive futuristic touch, like your grandfather walking through his old neighbourhood as a kid with an iPhone. Nick’s occupation further expands the world, introducing an intriguing setup for a murder mystery; entering the memories of people offers the potential for a more cerebral search rather than the typical noir trapping of the hero scouring his city for the criminal.

Unfortunately Joy doesn’t seem particularly interested in venturing too far from noir conventions, content to bring the genre back to the screen without reinventing the wheel. Because of this the sci-fi concepts feel largely superfluous – Nick may detect a clue from someone’s memory (usually his own) but the pursuit happens in the real world, with the mystery of Mae’s disappearance becoming more predictable with each new clue uncovered. Similarly Jackman’s Nick begins the film as a downtrodden man struggling to scrape together a living before developing a crippling addiction to his search for Mae – new ground for the actor who has for so long been associated with claws and one hell of a temper. However as the mystery unravels, Nick sheds most of that baggage; going into full action hero mode and dispatching shady characters he encounters with all the violent proficiency of Wolverine.

All this might give the impression that Reminiscence isn’t worth your time, but that isn’t true thanks to a terrific cast led by powerhouse performances from Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson. Their chemistry as a couple of star-crossed lovers is palpable, with Jackman the perfect leading man to embody the modern equivalent of classic noir actors like Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum. Despite the mystery unravelling into predictability, you never stop rooting for Nick, as Jackman completely sells the descent into obsession as he severs ties with those close to him and destroys everything he has built in his pursuit of Mae. Ferguson is brilliantly cast as the femme fatale, oozing old Hollywood glamour as she seduces Nick; her presence (or lack thereof) felt throughout the entire film despite only appearing in a handful of scenes. You might not like where the story ultimately heads or the superfluous science fiction elements, but this central pairing will keep you invested right up until the credits – a testament that Jackman is certainly not going anywhere now that his time as Wolverine is behind him.

Lisa Joy’s first big trip outside of Westworld is something of a mixed bag – a confident, if overstuffed swing at the film noir genre that succeeds on the strength of Jackman, Ferguson and the entire cast’s commitment to the material. It may not live up to the promise of the mystery initially established, spiralling into predictability along the way, but Joy should be commended for attempting something so wholly different from most big-budget filmmaking out there. Anything different is sure to stand out in an age dominated by superheroes and over-the-top action and Reminiscence is a cult classic in the making.

Reminiscence stars Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Thandiwe Newton, Daniel Wu, Brett Cullen, Marina de Tavira, Sam Medina & Cliff Curtis – In cinemas now.

6.5/10

Director Mike Flanagan has been steadily building his resume as one of the horror genre’s premier talents, with projects like Hush, the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House and another Stephen King adaptation in 2017’s Gerald’s Game. His latest film, Doctor Sleep represents his biggest step-up and challenge to date: a sequel to arguably one of the greatest horror films of all time, and the one adaptation of his work that Stephen King despises: The Shining. So does Flanagan fold under the pressure? Absolutely not. Doctor Sleep is a wonderfully deep, endlessly engaging horror-drama that manages to deliver a worthy sequel to The Shining some 40 years later, pleasing both fans of the books and the film alike – including King himself. What it lacks in scares it makes up for with an engrossing story, killer performances from the cast all around and technical prowess of a level rarely seen in the horror genre.

Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) has not had an easy life since the events of the Overlook Hotel in 1980, carrying the memories and trauma from that event with him as he moves from town to town, looking to put the past behind him through whatever means necessary (mostly whiskey). When he arrives in the small American town of Frazier, Dan begins to feel that this is a place he can settle down in, and some unexpected hospitality from local do-gooder Billy Freeman (Cliff Curtis) goes a long way towards helping Dan kick his addiction and find a purpose in life. Dan takes on a job as an orderly at the local nursing home, using his Shining ability to comfort the dying patients as they leave this world, netting himself the name “Doctor Sleep” around the hospice. Elsewhere young Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran) is discovering her own Shining abilities, making herself known to Dan as well as the villainous Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) and her gang The True Knot – a group of individuals who use their abilities to travel the country and prey on children with the Shining, consuming their energy in order to stay young and cheat death. Dan and Abra must work together in order to keep her safe and end Rose’ relentless chase, even if it means confronting demons from Dan’s past.

That might sound like a lot going on, and it is, but Flanagan does such a good job of gradually building this story; using the familiar elements of The Shining to introduce us to the world and then adding one new element at a time. We’re instantly locked into Dan’s story, and completely understand how the childhood trauma he has suffered has followed him, leading him towards this life of substance abuse and never belonging anywhere. It’s a powerful message about confronting your past to influence your future and the substance abuse themes are handled delicately, never beating you over the head or preaching at you, yet still carrying tremendous weight, as we genuinely care about Dan’s struggle and want him to finally beat his demons. It helps a great deal having one of the most inherently likeable actor’s working today in your film and Ewan McGregor is the perfect actor to deliver Dan’s story. He’s a quiet, measured man – much like he was as a child – who has experienced so much and is simply looking to live out his days in peace and while there might not be much in the way of dialogue for McGregor, he has a much harder job in making you care about this character mostly through body language and facial expressions. The connections that Dan forges with Abra and Billy are genuine and clearly some of the first meaningful connections he has made in his life, which only adds to the stakes when he his confronted by Rose the Hat and the possibility of losing it all. It’s a truly impressive, understated performance which acts to anchor the film and it is hard to think of somebody better suited to the role than McGregor.

If McGregor’s character is a quiet, introspective man looking for the simple life, then Rebecca Ferguson’s character Rose the Hat is his polar opposite. An explosive force endlessly hungry for “steam” (the essence given off by children with Shining abilities that provides long life) Ferguson chews the scenery every time she is on-screen, imbuing the character with a vicious nature who is quietly creepy, a powder keg ready to go off at any moment. When she does it is ferocious and Ferguson adds to the effect with her facial movements and wide hungry eyes as she stalks her prey. She shows tremendous range here, switching between these calm, luring phases into the more straightforward villain role but there is more to Rose than just her evil intentions. She has created an unconventional family in the True Knot gang, having turned these individuals into steam chasing monsters herself, and that bond is tested multiple times throughout the film, with Ferguson switching between a mix of tough love and overbearing leader. It’s impossible to take your eyes off her when she’s onscreen as each moment feels like it could erupt. Rounding out the impressive core cast is relative newcomer Kyliegh Curran, who delivers extremely good work for only her second feature, playing the social outcast Abra with equal hints of sadness at being excluded because of her gifts and excitement at the prospects of developing them with Dan. She commands the screen remarkably well for someone so young and more than holds her own when interacting with McGregor and Ferguson in particular, and is clearly a force to be reckoned with who will go on to have much success in Hollywood.

If there was one horror film that nobody ever expected a sequel for, it would undoubtedly be The Shining. Regardless of Stephen King’s thoughts on the film it is a cultural touchstone and a masterclass in filmmaking from the legendary Stanley Kubrick. Doctor Sleep understands this and, perhaps unexpectedly, makes the decision not to beat you over the head with references. Sure, there is a portion of the film set in the iconic Overlook hotel, but it’s inclusion serves the story and isn’t inserted simply because it has to be in the sequel. The film itself is not inherently scary or nearly as unnerving as The Shining, and majority of the scares in the film are influenced in some way by the original film and are repeated often, robbing them of their impact after a while. Like most of Flanagan’s work, the horror is built around the characters and them confronting their own demons. It’s the groundwork and connections that Flanagan builds that invest you in the characters and the lack of scares did nothing to diminish my intrigue and attachment to Dan Torrance’s story. Where Flanagan chooses to pay homage to The Shining is in the technical aspects of the film. Certain establishing shots and sets are recreated perfectly, right down to the carpet of the hotel or the wallpaper of an office, and it works incredibly well to subconsciously make you feel like you are living in The Shining universe. The way the shot’s blend into each other at certain points of the film is another homage to Kubrick’s classic, pulling you into the story in a familiar yet not overbearing way.

Mike Flanagan remains on top of his game with Doctor Sleep: a phenomenal achievement in paying homage to one of the greatest horror films of all time while at the same time expanding the story of Dan Torrance and the world of The Shining in new and exciting ways. Featuring star performances from the entire cast, an intriguing narrative and innovative technical skills (as well as borrowing a few of Kubrick’s best) this is an unmissable cinematic event and one of the year’s best.

Doctor Sleep stars Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran & Cliff Curtis – In cinemas now.