A powerful story of motherhood, guilt, and the power of love await in Reminders of Him, the film adaptation of #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name. The film stars Maika Monroe, Tyriq Withers, Lauren Graham, and Rudy Pankow.
At the helm of an all-female filmmaking team as director is Veronica Caswill, who had Hoover’s blessing in handling her story. “Vanessa had such a clear vision from the start,” Hoover says. “She understood the exact tone and feel I was hoping the film would have. She approached the film as an artist fully immersed in every detail. Watching her shape the story with that level of intention was incredible.”
In charge of transforming Hoover’s written work into a screenplay is writer Lauren Levine, with Hoover collaborating every step of the way. Levine felt that Caswill’s vision was perfect for the novel, saying,” “Vanessa brings both poetry and precision to her work. Her use of color and light, and the way she collaborates with actors, gives every frame a sense of intimacy. She is European, telling a deeply American story, and that perspective adds dimension without creating distance. The material demands restraint, and Vanessa approached it with such honesty that the film never loses its balance.”
Reminders of Him is a story that starts with a tragic mistake, when Kenna (Maika Monroe) gets into an accident with her boyfriend that sends her to prison. She returns to her hometown in Wyoming seven years later, hoping to rebuild her life. Kenna also hopes to finally see her daughter, Diem, for the first time, who is in the custody of her paternal grandparents, Grace (Lauren Graham) and Patrick (Bradley Whitford). As tensions rise between the two parties, Kenna finds compassion, and a building romance in former NFL player and bartender Ledger (Tyriq Withers). As she forges her path towards redemption, heartbreak, and the hope for a second chance follows her.
Producer Gina Matthews joined the team soon after the project found its home in Universal, and was excited about how much everyone involved just clicked around the themes of the story. “I had a great meeting with Vanessa, Colleen and Lauren, and everything aligned very quickly,” Matthews says. “What stood out was the cohesion of the group. It was a female-led team at every level, working from a shared understanding of the material.”
Director Caswill found Hoover’s work to be exhilarating to adapt, having directed other adaptations such as Little Women and Love at First Sight. . “One of the things I find most special about Colleen’s writing is that, even when she is dealing with very painful material, there is always a dry wit running through it,” Caswill says. “With a story this emotional, that balance matters. It cannot become relentlessly heavy, but it also cannot soften the weight of what these characters are going through. We were always aiming for that space in between. My instinct was to stay faithful to the book and trust that the visual language would come naturally from the material. If I could capture the heart of the story honestly, I was confident the film would find its own voice.”
Embark on a journey of healing and love as Reminders of Him is now showing in Philippine cinemas. Check out Universal Pictures PH (FB), UniversalPicturesPH (IG), and UniversalPicsPH (TikTok) for the latest news and updates.
