It’s a narrative that belongs in a daytime soapie.  A young woman from a small town has fallen in love with a sweet, good-looking guy.  He’s bought a ring to “pop the question” the two spend a day canoodling and swimming at a remote lake.  They’re on the verge of spending the rest of their lives together when tragedy strikes.  He is killed in a car accident while they’re driving back home and, because she was driving and has alcohol in her system, she’s sentenced to 7 years in prison for vehicular manslaughter.  Oh, and she was impregnated just prior to the accident, so she gives birth in prison and loses full custody of her daughter.  The child will be raised by the deceased man’s parents instead.

It’s highly contrived but director Vanessa Caswill does an “okay” job in creating an engaging drama.  The film opens with the repentant woman, Kenna (Monroe), being released from prison and she’s looking to connect with her now 5-year-old daughter, Diem.  That won’t be easy because the paternal grandparents have taken out a restraining order against Kenna and don’t want anything to do with her.  You can, somewhat, understand their position given it was her actions which resulted in them losing their own son.

A catalyst is needed to break the barrier, and it arrives in the form of Ledger (Withers), a kind-hearted man who runs a small bar in town.  He knew the deceased Scotty (Pankow), he’s chummy with the parents, and he’s played a part in raising Diem.  Kenna and Ledger meet by chance (another unspontaneous moment) and after he initially rebukes her friendship, the “nice guy” in him shines through and the pair become romantically entwined.  It’ll be clear to any viewer that headwinds lie ahead.  What will happen when Diem’s grandparents find out?

In the same manner as John Grisham in the 1990s, 46-year-old American author Colleen Hoover has seen her moment in Hollywood arrive with a string of adaptations in quick succession.  This marks her third movie in the past two years following the decent It Ends with Us, starring Blake Lively, and the awful Regretting You, a misguided reworking of the source material.  They’re pitching to a similar crowd – those looking to see young people caught in a world of melodrama and tortured romance.

I’d have preferred something that feels less like an episode of Home & Away but, looking past the unnecessary guff (like a subplot involving a kitten), I like the film’s exploration of a troubled woman trying to forge a fresh existence.  When your actions (apparently) have led to the negligent/accidental death of the man you love, how easy is it to carry on?  What do you tell your child when she grows up?  How do you find meaningful work with a criminal record?  Is falling in love with your late fiancé’s friend really a good idea?

With a cast headlined by Maika Monroe (It Follows) and Tyriq Withers (Him), Reminders of Him won’t be winning awards but delivers what will be expected of its target audience.