Parents' Guide to Reminders of Him

Director Vanessa Caswill's serviceable but ultimately forgettable adaptation of Hoover's book unfortunately doesn't rise above the level of maudlin melodrama. Despite its positive messages about how society should treat the incarcerated—and the need for forgiveness, empathy, and compassion—Reminders of Him is so predictably trauma-driven that it often feels more like an old-school Lifetime movie than a contemporary romantic drama. It doesn't help that the story is full of head-scratching names; viewers may spend half the film wondering whether they heard Diem's name (as in carpe diem) correctly, since the movie never explains it the way the book does. Similarly, several supporting characters are introduced but never developed into fully realized characters.

One of the few conceits that does work is Kenna's distaste for music, highlighted by a funny scene in which every song on the car radio seems to be about loss or heartbreak. Monroe manages to generate chemistry both in flashbacks with Pankow and in present-day scenes with Withers (who deserves a stronger love story), though the story reduces both relationships to instant, fated love. Graham and Whitford add gravitas to the cast, but the screenplay—co-written by Hoover and Lauren Levine—never fully explains their characters' change of heart, considering all they've been through. Predictably, everything just wraps up with a tidy bow. Fans of Hoover's novel may appreciate seeing the tear-jerking story on the big screen, but viewers hoping for a more nuanced romance should look elsewhere.