For a premise that’s meant to invoke complicated emotions, Reminders of Him was simply too cut and dry.
Directed by Vanessa Caswill and starring Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers, the latest adaptation from author Colleen Hoover promised a storyline full of intrigue. But despite an impressive performance from the cast, including names like Lauren Graham and Bradley Whitford, the film didn’t deliver the morally grey plot I was expecting. Instead, it played out as a tragedy driven by miscommunication.
Even though Ledgar was under the impression that Kenna’s actions caused his best friend’s death, he came around to her with surprisingly little resistance. It took only a day for his opinion to shift, and their romantic relationship begins before Ledger even learns the truth about what happened the night Scotty died.
I expected the relationship between the leads to build slowly and deliberately. It could have worked with the right foundation, but the feelings of guilt needed far more focus than they received. Kenna and Ledger’s first kiss came out of nowhere, so much so that I genuinely looked to other movie-goers in case I had missed something.
None of Ledger’s guilt appears to stem from sleeping with his best friend’s almost-fiancée, who he believed abandoned Scotty in his time of need. Instead, it comes from lying to Scotty’s parents about helping Kenna get back on her feet.
While there was friendliness and a clear bond forming between the two, Reminders of Him didn’t spend nearly enough time exploring what a romance between them would actually mean. Their love should have felt strong enough to overpower the intense feelings of guilt surrounding them, but neither emotion ever fully landed.
The most heartfelt part of the story wasn’t the central romance at all, but the love Kenna has for Diem. More than anything, Reminders of Him is a story about the lengths a mother will go to in order to be worthy of her child, as well as navigating grief while trying to rebuild a life.
Now, don’t get me wrong, the film was entertaining, and I rarely found myself bored during its run. Ledger’s own relationship with Diem had me grinning ear to ear, but that’s not what I wanted most from this film.
I wanted to be split. I wanted to be gut-wrenched. I wanted to question if anything about this story was morally correct, but also feel their love so intensely that it couldn’t be wrong. For a premise that’s meant to invoke complicated emotions, Reminders of Him was simply too cut and dry.
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About Reminders of Him
After prison, a woman attempts to reconnect with her young daughter but faces resistance from everyone except a bar owner with ties to her child. As they grow closer, she must confront her past mistakes to build a hopeful future.