Reminiscence

A slick and ambitious hybrid of dystopian noir, crime procedural, futuristic cautionary tale, and time-spanning romance, Reminiscence takes itself too seriously to be memorable.

Flimsy scientific and ethical context render an intriguing science-fiction concept about dreams and being stuck in the past more muddled than provocative.

“Memories have a voracious appetite. If you’re not careful, they can consume you,” explains narrator and protagonist Nick (Hugh Jackman) as part of his persistent mumblings about the passage of time.

In the near-future, as downtown Miami is consumed by flooding, Nick is a brooding ex-soldier turned private detective whose high-tech racket consists of probing the memories of clients — playing out via holograms while they lay in a tube that resembles a clear-walled cryotherapy chamber.

Haunted by an unknown tragedy from his past, Nick and his loyal partner, Watts (Thandiwe Newton), maintain an emotional distance from their subjects, until the arrival of Mae (Rebecca Ferguson), an alluring cabaret singer who has a fling with Nick, then disappears.

Nick becomes obsessed with her whereabouts, even using his own mind to search for clues as his business flounders. He makes a potential breakthrough while investigating a separate case, only to learn some dark secrets and a conspiracy that links Mae’s past to his own in ways he never imagined. That leads to confrontations with plenty of shady operators.

Jackman’s multilayered performance provides an emotional anchor amid his seriously disturbed character’s ridiculous lack of common sense and self-discipline, which apparently cause him to risk everything.

Some twists are more compelling than others in the convoluted screenplay by rookie director Lisa Joy (a showrunner on “Westworld” and sister-in-law of Christopher Nolan, whose influence is evident). She favors sweeping camera movements, including a few lovely tracking shots to evoke the beauty of the bleak futuristic urban landscape.

Along the way, it becomes apparent that all the chronological back-and-forth, and the abrupt transitions between dreams and reality, are little more than gimmicky plot devices. The longer Nick searches for answers, the less we care about who or what he finds.

As the logical gaps widen beyond repair, and the melodramatic coincidences yield more questions than answers, you’ll want to forget you watched Reminiscence.

Rated PG-13, 116 minutes.