By: Jamie Steinberg
An oddly woven tale of two emotionally unavailable individuals that meet and bond with each other at a wedding, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey may sound like a love story; however, it never really seems to settle on a theme. True, the film explores past romantic traumas that have led these two to be non-committal or even a heartbreaker, but the various tales of woe sort of muddle true intentions. Written by Seth Reis, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is a flighty film that can’t make up its mind as to whether it wants to be a dramedy or romantic comedy.
David (Colin Farrell) is grieving the passing of his father (Hamish Linklater) while also in the midst of a midlife crisis. Sarah (Margot Robbie), who is vaguely given an initial backstory, meets David a mutual friend’s wedding. While these two start to feel some sparks, both admit to being bad at love as David’s closed off his heart and Sarah has commitment issues. What has led both individuals to whom they are now are their past traumas and thus a GPS voiced by Jodie Turner-Smith sets them off on an adventure to explore the moments that shaped these two by posing the question, “Would you like to go on a big, bold beautiful journey?” Consequently, the escapades begin as we follow David in his high school years when he performed in the musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying” where he experienced his first heartbreak when a girl that he was crazy about told him she didn’t feel the same way. Another finds Sarah at a museum that has deep meaning for her or even at the hospital where her mother (Lily Rabe) passed away.
The film gives Sliding Doors vibes but not as graceful. Reiss’ literal use of doors as not just architectural elements confuses as they appear more like portals to other worlds rather than transitions to various past experiences. Director Kogonada fluctuates the fantastical elements of the film in a way that lands or doesn’t – depending on the scene. One odd moment is the initial place where David and Sarah go to rent cars – an enormous warehouse that is empty and attended by a foul-mouthed and odd duck known as The Cashier (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and marks an appearance by a mechanic – barely noticeably played by Kevin Kline. Although, a standout scene of bravo proportions is watching Farrell in his high school theater production as the man can really sing (Yes, that’s his actual singing voice!)! The biggest problem with the film though is that the highlighted moments of Sarah and David’s lives have a lack of weight to them.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is simply missing big, bold, beautiful movie magic. The charisma and chemistry between Robbie and Farrell hold the film together, but the story itself is without pizzaz and poignancy.