What’s it about?
When David (Colin Farrell) and Sarah (Margot Robbie) meet at a wedding, their complete lack of chemistry seems to ensure that it’ll be a one-off encounter. But when a magical GPS forces them together again to appear in a Burger King commercial, they’re sent on a fantastical trip down memory lane where they get to revisit formative moments from their lives.
What’d we think?
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is frequently beautiful, but never feels confident enough to take a big swing at the big or the bold. After a strong opening where Colin Farrell visits a bizarre Kaufman-esque car rental agency (staffed by a woefully underutilised Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Kevin Kline) to secure transportation to the wedding, the early warning bells started ringing for me in the scene where our two leads meet. These are two genuine A-listers, absurdly attractive and effortlessly charismatic in real life and countless other roles. Still, their first meeting feels like a bad first draft of meet-cute dialogue and is so devoid of any chemistry that they may as well have filmed their scenes on separate days.
The titular journey begins after the GPS units in their respective hire cars guide them to a Burger King parking lot, from which they are sent to a series of magical doors that whisk them away to moments from their past which provide insight into their lives. The concept is solid enough; dating as an adult can require unpacking a lot of previous trauma, and the movie could charitably be looked at as an allegory for therapy, but the execution is severely lacking. Colin Farrell’s David is figuratively and literally in the driver’s seat for most of the movie, with a disproportionate amount of time dedicated to his incredibly benign past events (A girl I liked in high school didn’t like me back! My dad was supportive and we have a healthy relationship as adults!), while we only get a cursory glance at Margot Robbie’s Sarah revisiting the death of her mother. It feels like David’s story for much of the (far too lengthy) runtime when it’s clearly meant to be balanced.
The photography and wardrobe are wonderful (although the colour grading seems a touch oversaturated), some emotional scenes work due to the strength of the performances, but the movie never feels bold enough to really lean into the premise. The aesthetic sensibility is there, but there’s only a slight nod to the magical realism that would otherwise set it apart from any other romantic comedy.
