The film noir genre has been a favorite of film critics and film aficionados since the early 20th century. To this day, there are no two films alike, and there are many different ways to classify the genre, such as a crime drama, a neo-noir, a film noir, film noir, a film noir, a film noir, a film noir.
As usual, the latest entry in the long-running Detective Noir series from Daedalic Entertainment is a deep, challenging and fascinating tale from the past. As with all of the games in the series, the story revolves around a beloved lead character, and a brand new case to solve. In Reminiscence you play as Carl Mørck, a former cop and private investigator who is trying to put his life back together after a long and brutal war with the Mafia, and, ironically a series of tragic events that left people he cared about dead. The game begins on a grim note, with Carl trying to solve a mysterious crime involving a brutal murder in the hospital.
The last time we talked about Reminiscence, it was a quick one off. The name, by itself, doesn’t draw attention, but the premise is one that’s. A very unique premise at that. And it’s not even a new one, but a one that’s been around since the early 2000s. A film noir style game with bugs.
REVIEW – Reminiscence is a true film noir, complete with all the requisites and obligatory clichés of the genre, including a perpetually stubbled, tormented, long-suffering hero (Hugh Jackman), a sexy and femme fatale (Rebecca Ferguson), and a twisted story set in the future, in a very depressing world, full of a lot of deception and, of course, tragic romance. The film noir, on the other hand, is like a strong black coffee: too much sugar will make you sick. Lisa Joy, the director, made exactly that error…
It’s difficult these days to resurrect the cinema noir genre, which has already undergone a major transformation through neo-noir. To create a narrative in an avant-garde manner without sacrificing the basic foundations of cinema noir, it requires a dedicated Christopher Nolan. Reminiscence, on the other hand, is neither Memento nor Insomnia, nor is it a Blade Runner, while attempting to borrow fundamental themes from a variety of films. That isn’t the problem; it’s the narrative aspects, which are supposed to be romantic or tear-jerking…
Déja-Vu
Reminiscence, a sci-fi noir, gets off to a smart start, with a Blade Runner-style love tale set in a perfectly realistic climate-change-induced dystopia. It’s the end of the world: Miami is similar to Venice, but with a lot more sleazy nightclubs. Hugh Jackman stars as Nick Bannister, an ex-soldier who owns a company that allows individuals to float asleep in a sensory depression tank for a fee. They may go back to their favorite moments while submerged in the relaxing water and wearing virtual reality headsets on their heads. Technology makes time travel feasible, but the deteriorating environment around them makes it desirable. Perhaps only memories of happier days will survive when the planet starts to boil and suffocate, as the film implies.
Reminiscence is a good movie. It’s well-crafted aesthetically, with well-proportioned twists and intricate structure, and all of the story’s parts fit into place perfectly at the conclusion. Nonetheless, there is a monotonous and clichéd feeling of mechanical perfection. Reminiscence seems like a two-hour illusion in which we witness things we’ve seen before in a slew of previous noir films.
Female assassin
Film noir used to be one of the most romantic film genres, even though we don’t think of it that way now. The phrase “femme fatale” brings up a lot of adjectives other than romance – words like icy, slick, manipulative, and devious – but the point is that the fools who fell for them went for them completely; they allowed love push them over the brink. The femme fatales also failed. Rita Hayworth in The Guild, Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity — these women may have flaunted their sexual abilities, but what made them so cunning was the way they entrapped their own inner, confused love emotions. At least during the studio’s height, it was love that ignited the black flame of noir.
The romantic spark in Reminiscence, however, as we see Nick fall in love with Mae, a female wanderer with a shady history, only to lose her as soon as he found her, is so classic and all too familiar that it lacks the same stunning feeling of destiny. Nick and Mae seem to be going through the motions of a stereotypical “hot” romance. Mae is a cabaret singer, and Joy depicts her as mythically glamorous: she performs at the Coconut Club while dressed in a red silk gown with slits up to her thighs and stands in front of an old-fashioned microphone similar to the one Isabella Rossellini used in “Blue Velvet.”
There’s chemistry present, but there’s also a lot of kitsch.
Rebecca Ferguson is a seductive, beautiful, and talented actress who, without being annoying, reminds me of Isabelle Huppert at moments. However, I wish she had more of a contemporary presence in her persona. In The Greatest Showman, her connection with Jackman seemed more perilous. When Nick travels to Mae’s past, travels to New Orleans (which looks just like Miami), and pieces together his detective puzzle using other people’s memories, what we discover seems forced and clichéd. It’s about a substance known as baca. Saint Joe is the name of a mobster (played by a very cool Daniel Wu, who could have been in the film more). Mae, on the other hand, seems to be a lethal manipulator in the narrative, characterized by a Proustian snippet of a song (“It seems we’ve been here before…”) because the film requires it.
Hugh Jackman, despite his best efforts in all of his performances, comes off as a little forced here. In his moments with Thandiwe Newton, he’s at his best: the two of them have natural chemistry and banter with excellent timing.
“Totally,” I recalled.
The “New Past” is, in reality, extremely “old”: not only have we seen all elements of it before, but even the primary theme has been seen before: in Philip K. Dick’s book Total Recall. Such a nostalgic immersion in virtual reality was a novelty when K. Dick authored the book and the film version was shown in theaters, but it is already obsolete. Sadly, despite the presence of Hugh Jackman, it is not the love tale and clichéd film noir, which often leans towards kitsch or tear-jerking, that will bring this disc to a minimum level of originality.
-BadSector-
REVIEW – Reminiscence is a true film noir, complete with all the requisites and obligatory clichés of the genre, including a perpetually stubbled, tormented, long-suffering hero (Hugh Jackman), a sexy and femme fatale (Rebecca Ferguson), and a twisted story set in the future, in a very depressing world, full of a lot of deception and, of course, tragic romance. The film noir, on the other hand, is like a strong black coffee: too much sugar will make you sick. Lisa Joy, the director, made exactly that error… It’s difficult to resurrect the film noir genre these days,…
Reminiscence – There’s Too Much Sugar in This Noir Film
Reminiscence – There’s Too Much Sugar in This Noir Film
2021-08-21
Gergely Herpai (BadSector)
Reminiscence is, in reality, extremely “old”: not only have we seen all elements of it before, but even the primary theme has been seen before: in Philip K. Dick’s book Total Recall. Such a nostalgic immersion in virtual reality was a novelty when K. Dick authored the book and the film version was shown in theaters, but it is already obsolete. Sadly, despite the presence of Hugh Jackman, it is not the love tale and clichéd film noir, which often leans towards kitsch or tear-jerking, that will bring this disc to a minimum level of originality.
6.2 Direction
6.4 for acting
6.6 for the story
7.5 for visuals, action, and soundtrack
6.8 Ambiance
6.7
FAIR
Reminiscence is, in reality, extremely “old”: not only have we seen all elements of it before, but even the primary theme has been seen before: in Philip K. Dick’s book Total Recall. Such a nostalgic immersion in virtual reality was a novelty when K. Dick authored the book and the film version was shown in theaters, but it is already obsolete. Sadly, despite the presence of Hugh Jackman, it is not the love tale and clichéd film noir, which often leans towards kitsch or tear-jerking, that will bring this disc to a minimum level of originality.
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