‘Reminders of Him’ director says prison doesn’t define a person’s worth

EXCLUSIVE — One of the most consistent messages in the new movie "Reminders of Him" is that prisons are home to some victims, too.

The film, based on Colleen Hoover's novel of the same name, follows a young woman, Kenna, whose tragic mistake behind the wheel leads to the death of her boyfriend, Scotty. Unbeknownst to her, Kenna was pregnant. Kenna gave birth while in custody and was kept from her daughter while serving her sentence. Now, she returns to the same town to seek forgiveness from Scotty's parents in hopes of reuniting with her now 5-year-old daughter, Diem.

Director Vanessa Caswill hopes to remind audiences that one mistake shouldn't condemn a person for a lifetime.

"It's just having a human understanding that people in prison aren't necessarily there because they're a bad person," Caswill told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. "Things happen and things lead to actions and, many times, actions are mistakes or misguided or misjudgments. I think that judgment's a very tricky thing because we're all flawed, and we all make mistakes, and we all need a moment in our life where we personally want redemption. So I think it's important to be willing to give it as well."

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Although Kenna has high hopes of making amends when she leaves prison, she finds that Scotty's parents aren't warm or welcoming. They even file a restraining order against her after a couple of too-close-for-comfort incidents.

Caswill said she's learned the power of forgiveness through a series of her own challenges.

"You know, I think that I'm acutely aware of how, in our personal lives, we really have a choice about looking at anything that comes up, any challenge, through the lens of love or fear, and obviously fear can take many forms," she said. "And it's very easy to fall into that, but to just try to keep pivoting and try to keep looking at anything that comes up, with an open heart, is one that I certainly, having gone through many challenges in my life, started to sort of move towards and feel like there's something so much more uplifting about looking at the world through that lens."

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"So yes, and I think that's what I loved about this story, the way it sort of transmits something dark into something lighter," she continued. "And you can't rid yourself of grief or pain, but you can definitely transform the way you look at it."

Caswill has previously directed acclaimed TV series like the BBC's "Thirteen" and "Little Women," as well as the 2023 Netflix film "Love at First Sight." Her star-heavy cast of "Reminders of Him" includes Lauren Graham and Bradley Whitford as Scotty's grieving parents, country artist Lainey Wilson, and Tyriq Withers as a brooding bartender and Scotty's best friend who eventually becomes Kenna's champion and love interest. Zoe Kosovic makes an impressive turn as the young Diem.

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Two of the most moving scenes — which feature a couple of satisfying hugs — come at the tail end of the film, when Kenna starts to make inroads with the people she hurt.

"And both of them were really late in our schedule, so I was kind of carrying those scenes in my heart throughout the entirety of the filming process, knowing that if we didn't land those scenes, the film wasn't going to work," Caswill said. "So, it was partly emotional because there was relief in the fact that they were so brilliant — Micah and Lauren and Zoe were so brilliant in those scenes. And also emotional, because I think we were all carrying the intensity of the story and the pain of these characters the whole way through."

"And then, when you get these moments of connection and heart, it was really very emotional on set," she added. "And I remember, you know, I was in tears, but I remember — I'm so intense at the monitor. I don't look away from it. I stepped away when we called 'cut' and looked at the people around me and my DP [director of photography] turned around, and he just had his eyes just streaming, and it touched everybody, everybody was so invested in what those actors were doing."

"Reminders of Him," from Universal Pictures, is in theaters now.