A private investigator with access to people’s memories unfolds a conspiracy that also involves the disappearance of his beloved woman.
Interesting yet intricate plot that tells more than it shows. What has happened, but not to the full extent, becomes pretty straightforward from the very beginning. Until the inciting incident, a sci-fi, neo-noir unfolds that emphasises nostalgia. Once it becomes clear what the story is about, the plot and the subplot become respectively unclear. I struggled to figure out which is which. One is a decent love story, and the other is a decent crime one. But which one is the plot? And what are they together if both of them are the plot? Or the subplot? See the confusion?
There is a jigsaw waiting to be put in order, and Hugh Jackman, Thandiwe Newton, Rebecca Ferguson, and (the massively underrated) Cliff Curtis do a great job putting it together, but the film’s imbalance and the editing’s rhythm and pace do not help. Director Lisa Joy, the woman behind Westworld (2016-2022) gets Newton and Angela Sarafyan on board and even though she did a very decent job putting it together the result was not probably exactly what she hoped for. That said, the extremely poor box office does not reflect on that result – Budget: $54,000,000 (estimated) / International Box Office: $11,900,000. You will not regret watching it, so go for it.
Here’s another one for you. At times, it felt like this was a film about Hugh Jackman, who, in his fifties, still looks the same awesome, well-trained, good-looking man he was ten and twenty years ago. I’m not saying this is positive or negative, but it becomes yet another factor that takes the focus away from the story and, consequently, distracts. Again, I hope you forget your problems for about two hours and enjoy it.
P.S. Fun fact: Lisa Joy is the wife of Jonathan Nolan, brother of Christopher Nolan, who directed Hugh Jackman in Prestige (2006)
P.P.S. Fun fact 2: Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson worked together before in The Greatest Showman (2017)
Please, don’t forget to share and subscribe. If you enjoy my work and dedication to films, please feel free to support me on https://www.patreon.com/kaygazpro. Any contribution is much appreciated and valued.
Solidarity for all the innocent lives who suffer the atrocities of war!
Stay safe!
