Reminiscence star Hugh Jackman on the memories he wishes he could relive

In a future ravaged by climate changed, there isn’t much to look forward to. Reminiscence, a new film from Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy, shows what happens when people have nothing else—they look back, and dive deeper and deeper into what once was.

It’s a science fiction film with a noir heart, and it’s starring Hugh Jackman as Nick Bannister, a man who gets caught up with a femme fatale played by Rebecca Ferguson and has to search through memories in order to solve a mystery.

Jackman spoke to Esquire Middle East about the making of the film, in cinemas now across the Middle East.

Here’s our full conversation:

If you could conjure a reminiscence tank right now, what would be the first memory that you choose to relive?

The first thing I want to do is go back to when I was young. I don’t know about you, but because I’m 52, but there are holes in my memory from when I was super young. I would love to fill in things that my brothers and sisters can’t, that I can’t remember either—fun things, good things, interesting things. I would love to be able to just somehow see those and feel those things. And I’d love to get back to those early days of my kids, literally like Day One. Both my kids were adopted, and I was at the birth of my son and my daughter. They’re now 15 and 21, but I would love to go back to those early days.

Lisa Joy has said that you were the actor she had in mind this character. How did you come to learn that?

Yeah, she did actually say that to me when we first met, but maybe I’ve been in the movies too long, I was a bit like, hmm, I’m not sure. Does that mean it was only Brad that turned it down or was it Leo and Brad? I’m not sure. But I have to say, I actually do believe in that now; she made a very convincing tale and it was incredibly flattering. I’m a huge fan of Westworld. Just literally the moment you meet her, there’s a competence to her, you know you’re in good, safe hands, and we just got on incredibly well.

She asked to have the meeting with me and to show me some images and various things on the computer, without me reading the script, which is unusual. And when I heard her pitch, I thought, “I’m pretty sure I’m going to do this movie even though I haven’t read it.” Of course, I did my best poker face that I could. And about 20 pages into reading it, I rang my agent, I said, “I haven’t finished reading it and I’m absolutely doing it.” I just thought it was such a cool world, so original, so surprising; I didn’t see where it was going, and I certainly didn’t see where it was ending. I just thought it was a different kind of role for me. And I just loved Lisa. So, it was a very easy yes, but it wasn’t a conventional yes, that’s for sure.

Ok let’s just get this out of the way—what is Reminiscence about, exactly?

My character Nick Bannister is a decorated war veteran who, during the war, was using a new technology. We’re in the near future. Miami is now very much submerged, not fully submerged, but think Venice. It is so hot in this climate-changed world that people live at night, because the daytime is just too hot. All the underworld kind of characters, they all really live during the day. That’s the world we live in. My character runs a business using a technology called a reminiscence machine. That machine, during the war, was used to go into people’s minds and find the truth about what happened, to interrogate them, basically; post-war, or in this situation, it’s used for people to relive memories.

When I say relive them, literally relive them: feel, touch, see, taste everything that happened. My job is like a private investigator of the mind; I go in, I guide people through their memories so they don’t get lost or go to funny places—they’re kept safe. That’s the business I’m in. Early in the movie, a client comes in literally looking for lost keys, and her name is Mae, played by Rebecca Ferguson. And that’s where the journey begins. I follow her, fall in love with her. She disappears out of the blue and I follow her down quite a dark path through Miami’s underworld.

What did you do to establish the right tone for this character, as Lisa loves to blend genres?

I totally agree with you. She does that, and I think she does it deliberately and that’s what is so great. And in this movie, when I read it, I was like, oh, I’m reading a Humphrey Bogart sort of film. And then, oh hang on, now it’s not. We’re going in all these directions. She sets up classic characters: the femme fatale, played by Rebecca Ferguson, the very loyal secretary, who may be truly in love with Nick, played by Thandiwe Newton. And then before you know it, you’re off, where you just go down a path you never thought you were going down. I found it incredibly enlivening and energizing, different and original, certainly reading and making the film—I hope audiences find it the same.

What struck you most about Lisa?

I think Lisa has a lot to say as a director. When I was studying acting, they said a film has to have something to say, and Lisa does in spades. The film is deliberately not too far in the future. Many of the things that are happening—how the climate is affecting the city of Miami, all the issues around income inequality—those are coming to the fore now. I love that. I love a movie that on one level is entertainment, it’s a great story, it takes you away. But I also love the movie that stays with you, and when you get out of the cinema you’re looking at the world outside in a different way. And I think Lisa has that ability completely.

know this was Lisa’s first film, but in every way, if she hadn’t told me that, or if I didn’t have Google, you would never think that. Literally, she is one of the most assured directors I’ve worked with. And it’s a function of being a writer. It’s a function of this script being maybe seven-years-old in her head, waiting for the day when she had done something like “Westworld” so people would see her work and allow her to make this movie. And then the preparation is so complete. When she gets on-set, it’s beyond just storyboards, she knows exactly… It’s almost like a savant actually, the way she can describe it to everybody. The actors, the crew, the stunt people, everybody—”This is how I’m shooting it. This is what I need.” And she was doing things bravely that no one had ever done before. A lot of the film is actually caught in camera. The reminiscence machine is not a visual effect. They spent about a year putting it together. And if you were going to drama school, there’s no directing teacher who would tell you to try and invent a new way of shooting something in your first feature film. She’s incredibly courageous and collaborative, and she has great people around her; she trusts them and works with them and allows people to really feel involved. I loved working with Lisa. I’ll work with her again in a heartbeat.

The film explores the addictive nature of nostalgia. How did that resonate with you?

I think it’s a great point. The film certainly explores the idea of memory and nostalgia as something that is potentially addictive, or just enticing to go back and live in the good old days, remember that time. And with this technology, you can relive it and just stay in the past. But what is the cost of that? And what does it mean for the future of these characters or even the present when you can so easily escape in the past? I think we live in this changing world. We’re in this post-pandemic world right now and we’re now coming out into… Is it a new world? Are we going to try and re-create what we had before? And I think it’s a really interesting time and a very uncertain time. And I hope the movie resonates in that way, where it is wonderful to have memories, but as humans, we have to be constantly creating new ones. I hope in a way that this film opens that sort of discussion.