Reminders of Him | Film Review

 

After getting out of prison, Kenna (Maika Monroe) is desperate to reconnect with her young daughter. But when she's forced to face the consequences of past mistakes, she builds a connection with a bar owner (Tyriq Withers), who has unexpected ties to her former life.

I think it's normal at this point to go into Colleen Hoover-adapted movies with scepticism. I've only read one of her books but I'd heard about this one, so I knew what I was getting into.

But for some reason, this one took me by surprise! The plot was what I thought it would be, but I didn't expect it to have as much heart as it did.

Part of this is because of how great the actors are. Monroe and Withers have great chemistry and play these characters so well. They are both 100% committed, which makes the material so much better.

The relationships in the film, from romantic to familial to found-family, are all really sweet and created with an air of authenticity that just works. All of the actors worked really well together.

The events kind of play out like a soap opera, the way everything is so melodramatic and over the top. But this is what I've come to expect from this type of adaptation, so it wasn't as jarring as it could have been.

The filmmakers did a good job of utilising flashbacks in a really effective way. We had heard so much about Kenna's past, and particularly the character of Scotty (Rudy Pankow), that it was great to be able to see some of these moments.

I was surprised that the story was a lot more interesting than it first appeared. I liked the characters a lot more than I thought I would, and everything just sat in more of a grey area than I assumed it would. The characters and their stories are really complex.

That being said, the central relationship of the film could have done with a lot more development. Despite how prominent it was supposed to be, it took a backseat to the family drama.

Overall, this is probably the best Colleen Hoover adaptation so far (though I have my fingers crossed that both the book and movie version of Verity are good!). It's not an amazing movie, but it definitely took me by surprise in a way that the others haven't.

6.5/10