Inspired by German Expressionism in the late 1940s, film noir flourished and then mutated into other mystery genres: “neo-noir,” “sci-fi noir,” and, most recently, “tech-noir.” With few exceptions, all of these movies featured a world-weary leading man (often private a detective or cop) who falls for or is duped by a sultry and calculating femme fatale leading lady. In her debut feature “Reminiscence,” filmmaker Lisa Joy unabashedly embraces virtually every past noir calling card.
The majority of the critical community has responded to the film with confusion and indifference. Throughout movie history, many films we now consider “classics” were initially met with disdain, indifference and/or befuddlement (think virtually every Stanley Kubrick effort) and “Reminiscence” certainly fits that mold. This is a title which absolutely begs to be viewed not twice, but multiple times and I, for one, can’t wait to watch it repeatedly.
Another slam against this film is that it is derivative, pinching bits and pieces from other similarly-themed past productions and that is entirely true. At various points you’ll see elements of (among others) “Vertigo,” “Blade Runner,” “Altered States,” “Brainstorm,” “Strange Days,” “The Cell,” “Minority Report,” “Source Code,” and “Inception.”
Being “inspired by” or “borrowing” from older movies (or music, or paintings, or other artistic mediums) is nothing new, nor is it lazy or uninspired. One look at a list of Shakespeare’s plays adapted into movies supports this argument. There is indeed nothing new under the sun.
