'Reminiscence' Trailer: Hugh Jackman Searches For A Missing Rebecca Ferguson In New Film From 'Westworld' Creator

In the near future, nothing is more addictive than the past.

Reminiscence, the first feature film from Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy, takes place in a near future in which some of Miami has flooded due to rising water levels, and its residents rely on nostalgia as a means of escape. Technology exists that can let people fully immerse themselves in their previous experiences, reliving memories not only visually, but through all of their senses. With that as the backdrop, Hugh Jackman plays a "private investigator of the mind" (hell yes) who meets an alluring femme fatale, played by Mission: Impossible actress Rebecca Ferguson, and quickly becomes obsessed with her.

Despite the film's impressive production design, sleek visual style, and mind-related plot mechanics, Reminiscence is not related to Christopher Nolan's Inception. (We think.) But take a look at the first full trailer and see what Joy was able to craft during her first time in the director's chair.

Joy wrote, directed, and produced this movie, which appears to be the type of original film aimed at adults that we often blame Hollywood for not making very much these days. Jackman as a mind investigator seems like a slam dunk, and I love seeing him partnered up with Thandiwe Newton, who has worked extensively with Joy on the HBO series Westworld. A case could be made that Jackman is at his best when he plays obsessive characters (The Prestige, Prisoners, etc.), and I'm curious what he'll add to the long lineage of cinematic detectives who become obsessed with a dame who saunters into their office. And Ferguson, who is so great in the recent Mission: Impossible films, seems to be really embracing the fun of playing a mysterious character who seems to potentially be harboring some kind of dark secret.

Here's the movie's official synopsis:

Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman), a private investigator of the mind, navigates the darkly alluring world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed when he takes on a new client, Mae (Rebecca Ferguson). A simple matter of lost and found becomes a dangerous obsession. As Bannister fights to find the truth about Mae's disappearance, he uncovers a violent conspiracy, and must ultimately answer the question: how far would you go to hold on to the ones you love?

Reminiscence arrives in theaters and will be available on HBO Max on August 20, 2021.