Film Review – Reminiscence

Lisa Joy is best known for her television work, producing shows such as “Westworld” and “Burn Notice,” dealing with gritty tales of detective work and future technology. Joy makes her debut as a writer/director with “Reminiscence,” which examines the sci-fi concept of living memories and works them into a hard-boiled tale of sleuthing, but with a more emotional push of lovesickness driving the story. The production offers viewers a new vision of American disaster, with wars destroying society and rising coastal waters increasing desperation, but Joy is also trying to pay tribute to the detective stories of old with “Reminiscence,” and she often fails spectacularly. It’s not easy to craft a twisty plot full of deceptive characters, but the helmer gets lost in her detailed visuals, failing to craft at least a passably compelling mystery for the main character, who’s put through the wringer in the name of love, but it’s difficult to work up the energy to care about any of it. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com