Plot: What’s it about?
I’m willing to bet that there’s not a soul on the face of the Earth that, if offered the chance, would like to redo at least something in their life. I’d be hard-pressed to find the individual who literally has no regrets. I mention this because while watching Reminders of Him, it also reminded me of how fallible we are. People make mistakes. Some big and others small. I’ll dive into it more later, of course, but this is at the heart of this film, the latest from noted author Colleen Hoover. She seems to be enjoying the same success that Nicholas Sparks did with his novels and John Grisham’s a decade prior. Nothing wrong with that, of course, if there’s a way to capitalize on success you have to strike while the iron’s hot. And they did.
Kenna Rowan (Maika Monroe) has recently been released from prison. She was put in for a drunk driving accident that ended up killing her boyfriend, Scotty (Rudy Pankow). After his death she gave birth to their daughter and was put in the custody of his parents: Grace (Lauren Graham) and Patrick (Bradley Whitford). Kenna, now hot, has returned to the literal scene of the crime and hopes to see her five-year-old, Diem (Zoe Kosovic). However, things aren’t as easy as they seem and things get more complicated when she starts to have feelings for Ledger (Tyriq Withers). The crux is that Ledger was Scotty’s best friend and has been a surrogate father figure to Diem. This leaves him with a dilemma between his fondness for Kenna and the knowledge of knowing that, due to her actions, both Grace and Patrick blame her for their son’s death.
There’s a lot of baggage to unpack in a relatively short amount of time (just under two hours). But they do it well. There are the obligatory flashback scenes that seem somewhat of a copout, but they do help propel the plot. And I have to admit that having not read the novel, I had no idea what might have been changed. Still, I kind of rolled my eyes when opening this disc and I have to admit that this one did have me a bit surprised. And, yes, even a bit choked up at the end. My wife will be so happy to know that I actually have feelings. If Colleen Hoover’s works are for you, then this follows in the same tune as It Ends With Us and Regretting You. Given the timeframe between her novels and them landing on screen, I’m sure it won’t be long before we see another adaptation and perhaps I’ll look forward to it a little more than I should.
Video: How’s it look?
I’d commented in my review of Regretting You, that it seemed like a soap opera in that everything seemed to have its right place, the lighting was just so…and so forth. That trend continues here as we’re treated to some picture perfect scenes that only exist in movies. That’s not technically true, of course, but I’m sure anyone who’s seen films knows what I’m talking about. Having said that, the 2.39:1 AVC HD encode looks visually stunning from the first frame to the last. Glorious, colorful hues abound with warm fleshtones, precise detail and strong contrast. In essence, everything we’ve come to expect from a new-to-the-format film on Blu-ray.
Audio: How’s it sound?
Though not a full-fledged Dolby Atmos track, we nearly get there with a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mix that’s surprisingly powerful. This isn’t the kind of movie that’ll test the limits of your system, to be sure, but a few scenes did catch me off guard leading me to say “Wow. Didn’t expect that.” (yes, I talk to the screen when I watch movies). Vocals are strong and centered, there’s a nice, subtle ambiance that resonates in a few pivotal scenes and the surrounds chime in at just the right time. It was better than expected, which is always a nice surprise.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Deleted Scenes
- Kenna Meets the Landrys for Dinner
- Ledger Working on House / T-ball Game
- Kenna Asks Her Mother for Help
- The Path to Redemption – We see Kenna Rowan’s journey of redemption and the parallel love stories that guide her path out of the darkness.
- Turning the Page – If you can’t get enough of Colleen Hoover’s characters, we hear from cast and crew why it was so important to have this beloved author turned screenwriter on set.
- Our Adventure – We meet the team of filmmakers who brought the film to fruition in this deep-diving making-of.
The Bottom Line
There’s nothing mind-blowingly amazing about this film other than it deals with real life issues. People are human. We make mistakes and those mistakes often have consequences. Maika Monroe takes a departure from her horror genre and manages to turn in a great performance. And, as expected, Universal’s Blu-ray looks and sounds amazing with just the right amount of supplemental material to warrant a purchase.
