Reminiscence Ending Explained- The Myth Of Orpheus And Eurydice And What It Means To Be Happy?

Reminiscence is a stylish techno-noir film with enough gorgeous imagery and thought-provoking melancholy to make even the most optimistic person question their reality. Lisa Joy, who co-created Westworld, wrote and directed this bleak thriller that makes the most of its stars and visuals to immerse the viewer in a mysterious world of corruption and devastation. Hugh Jackman(X-Men), Rebecca Ferguson(Dune), and Thandiwe Newton(Westworld) each ground the film with emotional performances that allow some of the more obvious plot beats to be overlooked. You will likely guess the twist long before it is revealed, but the sentimental payoff is worth it in Jackman’s appealing hands. Here’s everything you need to know about that heartwrenching ending.

In Reminiscence, Hugh Jackman’s Nick Bannister is a private detective and purveyor of memories. Using technology invented during a fairly recent war, he can see others’ memories. A surprisingly low-tech halo, a bathtub, an injection of some unknown substance, and a curtain of fiberoptic lights are all that is required—that and, of course, the dulcet tones of Jackman to guide them safely through the process. The world following the war is physically if not politically changed. Whole cities are now at least partially underwater, and millions of people have been abandoned to die. Corruption is the norm, not the exception, and only the rich are immune from the struggle. The Barons are the ultra-elite who managed to monopolize the country’s resources and profit from them. They are seemingly above the law.

Bannister and his fellow war veteran Watts(Newton) run the detective agency where they occasionally help Officer Avery Castillo played by Natalie Martinez(The Stand). They also peddle in nostalgia. For a small price, customers can relive their most cherished memories. Unfortunately, looking back has become an addiction in this desperate landscape of oppressive heat, crime, and endless water. Constantly looking back instead of forward, some find themselves lost in their memories, unable to move on.

Mae comes to the pair looking for a lost set of keys and quickly consumes Bannister. She is beautiful, alluring, and brings him peace and hope. That is until she disappears one day with no explanation. As Bannister becomes obsessed with finding her, he is drawn into a conspiracy of love, betrayal, and greed. The final resolution is an open-ended gut punch that makes you question what it means to be happy and is it worth searching for.

The ending of Reminiscence

After investigating another crime and a Baron’s death, Bannister learns Mae was not who she said she was. She was a drug addict and con woman who pretended to love him as a way to get her hands on a memory from one of Bannister’s other clients Elsa(Westworld’s Angela Sarafyan). Elsa had an affair with Walter, who is the dead Baron. They had a son who would have shared joint control of the empire with Walter’s legitimate son if he was discovered. Walter had a plan to make his son with Elsa public and provide for the two. Unfortunately, his legitimate son Sebastian was a greedy monster and set out to clean up all the loose ends and prevent that from happening.

Once Mae realized what was happening, she decided to protect the boy and killed herself rather than have his whereabouts discovered. Mae took the boy and hid him on an island which she had told Bannister about earlier. She was a criminal and did dupe Bannister initially, but she formed real feelings for him and did redeem herself. Before killing herself, she left a message to Bannister. When Bannister interrogated Cyrus, a corrupt cop working for Sebastian, he witnesses Mae’s death and a goodbye message meant for him. She knew she would probably die and spoke to Cyrus as if he was Bannister, knowing he would likely see the memory eventually. In his rage, Bannister fried Cyrus’ brain in the machine and confessed to Watts. He tells the police how to find the boy, and Freddie is rescued.

Watts decided to find her estranged daughter at Bannister’s urging. The film’s final scene is of Watts with her grandchild, indicating she could move on with her daughter and Bannister hooked up to the machine. However, he was permanently placed in the device for frying Cyrus to live out his memories with Mae. It is there that he tells her the story of Orpheus and Eurydice.

The Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice

The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice that Bannister tells Mae at the end of Reminiscence is not the romantic tale of eternal love that Bannister spins. Rather it is a tragic tale of loss, passion, and the flaws of man. Orpheus, the son of Apollo and the Muse Calliope. He was a gifted musician who played with such ability that he could influence even the rocks and animals. One day he met Eurydice. He fell in love with the beautiful woman, and they married. The couple lived happily for many years, but as Hyman, who was called upon to bless the union, predicted, the pair was not destined to last.

Shortly after the ominous omen, Eurydice was chased by a stranger who was bewitched by her beauty. In her struggle to escape, she was bit by a venomous snake and died. Orpheus was so grief-stricken by her death his music affected everyone with its pain. Apollo encourages him to go to Hades and plead for his wife’s return. Once there, he played for Hades and Persephone, who was so taken with his songs they agreed to release Eurydice from the Underworld. There was one catch, however. Orpheus was forbidden from looking back at Eurydice as she followed him out of the cave and back to the world of the living. If he were patient, she would rejoin the living world, and they could live together again.

He left the Underworld ecstatic that he would have his love back; he listened for her footsteps behind him. When he couldn’t hear her steps, he began to lose faith and, at the last minute, looked back to see Eurydice was a shadow behind him waiting to be turned into a fully fleshed woman once outside the cave. Instead, after breaking the rules, he was forced to watch as her shadow was whisked back to the Underworld forever. Devastated, Orpheus played his lyre, begging to be killed rather than live without Eurydice. In one version of the myth, Zeus strikes him with lightning, and in another, beasts or Maenads tore him to pieces. The Muses were so taken with his music; however, they kept his head on Earth where he could play for their amusement forever.

This is definitely not the story Bannister tells Mae. The actual myth is more in line with the ending of Reminiscence. After seeing that Mae did love him and sacrificed her own life to save an innocent boy, Bannister chose to live the remainder of his life in his reverie. Throughout the film, he looked back for Mae. Back to discover her fate. Back to find the deception he missed, and back for the love, he shared with her.

The only real question is, did the story play out in real-time, or was it all a memory? It hardly matters as most classic noirs end with an unhappy conclusion. Reminiscence takes a slightly different approach. It isn’t all bad. Watts was able to reconnect with her child and now shares a relationship with her grandchild, and presumably, Walter’s other son became a Baron. For Bannister, the story is less hopeful. He currently lives his life attached to the machine, where he replays the events with Mae repeatedly. The moral of the story is that sometimes it is better to keep facing forward or risk losing the things you care about. Reminiscence is on HBO Max and in theaters right now.