A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (dir. Kogonada)

By Nick Zednik

Korean-American auteur Kogonada (Columbus, After Yang) has, up until now, been pigeonholed as a filmmaker  largely interested in telling intriguingly complex and meditative stories as opposed to aiming for spectacle. Much like the title of his latest venture suggests, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is indeed a leap forward targeting a funny, and fantastical journey starring two of Hollywood’s most relevant and bankable international stars. 

Margot Robbie (Barbie, I, Tonya) and Colin Farrell (The Penguin, The Banshees of Inisherin) play Sarah and David, two attractive strangers who out of pure luck, meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and immediately hit it off over their shared bond of commitment-phobia. By sheer convenience, Sarah’s rental car breaks down and ends up hitching a ride with David as they  embark on a road trip towards self-forgiveness and love. But that’s not the half of it. The rental car agency, run by two uber-zany comedians, Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda) and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) give David a special 90’s vintage Saturn with its own mystical GPS which guides the couple to various magic doors out in the wild. Things quickly emerge as a rom-com’s take on the ghosts of love past, present and future as Sarah and David discover that grief, acceptance and love are both never easy and never too late to want. Several pivotal moments that are quickly brushed upon are key encounters with their respective parents, revisiting a modern art gallery and two separate hospitals which may even be connected. The film’s most impactful scene however, is the moment David got his heart broken by his high school sweetheart while performing in their musical stage production. 

Where A Big Bold Beautiful Journey succeeds is also where it falters, as Robbie and Farrell’s commitment to the subject matter keeps the film afloat and often comes across as a throwback to a time where movie stars were selling romantic comedies, not the topic at hand. The plot just has too much style in its captivating set pieces and not enough substance to add emotional weight to what’s transpiring. Kogonada’s film leaves audiences waiting for a twist that never comes. While the impact of the twin journeys are felt by the finish line. Kogonada has a fascinating grasp on how memories perpetually shape our identities over time and the opportunity to go back to see a visibly “correct” alternative to a memory can be quite cathartic, despite its narrative constraints.

Nick’s Pick: 6.5/10 A Big Bold Beautiful Journey has moments of charm and captivating set pieces with Farrell and Robbie selling the emotion like true Hollywood vets. It’s just missing some heft to push it further over the hump.