Reminders of Him pairs Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers with Colleen Hoover’s best source material yet; The result is something special.
Director: Vanessa Caswill
Genre: Drama, Dark Romance, Tragedy
Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 114′
Release Date: March 13, 2026
Where to Watch: In U.S. theaters, in U.K. and Irish cinemas, and globally in theatres
Colleen Hoover adaptations have had a rough go of it. It Ends with Us became more famous for its off-screen drama than for anything on-screen. Regretting You was a modest hit, but Allison Williams and Dave Franco never connected in the way that locks in an audience. So, walking into Reminders of Him, the third swing at bringing Hoover to the big screen, skepticism felt justified. Give this one a chance anyway. It had every opportunity to dissolve into drippy melodrama and instead defiantly said, “Not today, Nicholas Sparks.”
Based on Hoover’s bestselling 2022 novel, Reminders of Him sees Kenna Rowan (Maika Monroe, Longlegs) return to her small Wyoming hometown after seven years in prison for a car accident that killed her boyfriend, Scotty (Rudy Pankow, Outer Banks). She gave birth to a daughter, Diem (Zoe Kosovic, The Smashing Machine), while incarcerated and has never known her. Diem’s grandparents, Grace (Lauren Graham, Gilmore Girls) and Patrick (Bradley Whitford, Get Out), have full custody and zero interest in letting Kenna near her. The only person who doesn’t freeze her out immediately is Ledger Ward (Tyriq Withers, Atlanta), a former NFL player who runs a local bar and was Scotty’s best friend.
A romance like this sinks or swims on whether you can believe the two people at the center of it, and Monroe and Withers make you invest in every second. There’s a pull their characters feel before either understands what they’re walking into, and the tension of that realization is electric. Monroe is a revelation. She has already proven she can uncover the dark side of damaged characters, but Reminders of Him gives us something different: a look at how broken people decide to pick themselves back up. It’s the most complete performance of her career.
Withers had a disappointing 2025 between the I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot fizzling out and HIM bombing spectacularly, but he starts 2026 on much stronger footing. He is magnetic and deeply felt as a good guy torn between honest feelings and fierce loyalty, the kind of turn that announces a leading man has arrived. Together, Withers and Monroe generate slow-burning chemistry that makes you lean forward in your seat.
Whitford and Graham may be a bit too antagonistic as written, not growing much until the film decides it can’t leave on a sour note. But both sell that tension. As Diem, Kosovic delivers one of the most natural child performances I’ve seen in a while. Much of her dialogue feels like it was made up on the spot, yet it plays right into every scene around her. She handles difficult lines about parents, absence, and death with startling maturity. Making her film debut, Lainey Wilson (Yellowstone) takes the right bite in a small but meaningful role and comes out looking ready for seconds. Monika Myers effortlessly steals scenes as Kenna’s co-worker and neighbor, Lady Diana.
The film was shot in Calgary, standing in for Wyoming, and cinematographer Tim Ives (Stranger Things) creates lovely shots of Laramie, making the most of endless blue sky and rolling highway. Tom Howe’s score mixes with breathy ballads and pop-country earworms. Coldplay’s “Yellow” makes a well-placed appearance tied to the novel, and a cover by Morgan Harper Jones later lets the song land with new meaning. Costume designer Jayna Mansbridge deserves a nod for Monroe’s limited, slightly out-of-style wardrobe that looks exactly like what someone rebuilding after prison would wear.
Credit to Hoover and co-writer Lauren Levine for the adaptation. Armed with Hoover’s strongest source material, they streamlined the novel without losing what made it resonate with six million readers. The ending may feel slightly rushed, but by then the film has earned the right to skip a few steps. Director Vanessa Caswill (Love at First Sight) keeps things confident throughout, building to a surprisingly emotional climax given real weight by its cast.
Reminders of Him is the Hoover adaptation that finally gets it right: warm, disarmingly honest, and built on humans acting out of self-protection rather than self-interest. It’s the rare romantic drama that plays just as well for the person dragged by their partner to the theater as the one who bought the tickets. Levine is also producing Hoover’s adaptation of Verity, starring Anne Hathaway, due in October. If it’s anything close to this, Hoover’s page-to-screen future is bright.
Reminders of Him: Movie Plot & Recap
Synopsis:
After seven years in prison for a tragic car accident, a young mother returns to her Wyoming hometown hoping to reconnect with the daughter she’s never known but finds resistance from everyone except a bar owner with unexpected ties to her past.
Pros:
- Monroe and Withers deliver magnetic chemistry that carries the film
- Zoe Kosovic gives a remarkably natural child performance
- The best Colleen Hoover adaptation to date, faithful to the novel while working as a standalone film
Cons:
- Whitford and Graham’s characters feel underwritten until the final act
- The ending resolves complex emotions a touch too quickly
- The motive behind certain character choices could use more depth
Reminders of Him will be released in U.S. theaters, in U.K. and Irish cinemas, and globally in theatres on March 13, 2026.
Header credits: Michelle Faye / Universal Pictures