A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

Greetings again from the darkness. I'm not normally the target market for romantic philosophy-of-life movies, so it seems apropos that one I connect with is likely to be labeled maudlin or sappy by others. Being a big fan of director Kogonada's underrated COLUMBUS (2017), I was interested to see him team up again with his AFTER YANG (2021) star Colin Farrell, in a blacklist script from writer Seth Reiss (THE MENU, 2022).

Matching Colin Farrell with Margot Robbie means that, at a minimum, beautiful movie stars will fill the screen. Beyond their stunning looks, both are extremely talented actors - Farrell has certainly honed his skill over the years, while Robbie is a modern day Grace Kelly. David and Sarah first meet each other at a wedding. The attraction is there, but this encounter ends awkwardly with each going their separate way. We learn they are quasi-miserable lonely souls who see little hope in finding a true soulmate - the message here being that nothing should be assumed until one's own soul-searching is complete.

The world's most bizarre Rental Car counter is staffed by two quirky characters played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge ("Fleabag") and Kevin Kline. A fantastical GPS system in their matching 1994 Saturns finds David and Sarah ordering the same 'fast food cheeseburger' at a roadside diner. This is step one in their titular journey ... so named as David screams it while driving. Now traveling in the same Saturn, this GPS directs them to a series of doors - each connected to some past moment of their lives. A red door leads to a lighthouse, another to a high school musical production, one to a special museum, and yet another to hospital visits. It's part trip down memory lane and part spiritual awakening.

What matters is that David and Sarah are sharing the journey with each other - good memories and bad. Stepping through the doors exposes bits of their life and personality that might take years for two in a relationship to discover, if ever they would. Dealing with one's own past is a first step in moving forward, much less in accepting another to share a life with. Regrets, missed opportunities, grief, and hurdles are all part of what make us who we are. Supporting cast members include Lily Rabe, Billy Magnussen, Jodi Turner-Smith, and Sarah Gadon. Hamish Linklater nails his one crucial scene as David's dad ... surprisingly, it's the film's best scene. Whether it's viewed as a search for one's own soul or for a soulmate, the film deals with the baggage that goes with being a grown-up.

Exclusively in theaters beginning September 19, 2025.

Some critics may call A Big Bold Beautiful Journey a sappy romance wannabe, all style, no substance. That may be true, yet multiple moments of truth emerge such as the difficulty of connecting romantically with anyone and the power of the past, carried by memory, to shape the present and let emerge success in love.

Delight in the way director Kogonada and writer Seth Reiss bring together two stars into a distributed exposition that may allow love to flourish is a result of little sappiness and much deliberation rather than typical Hollywood saccharine. Colin Farrell's David and Margot Robbie's Sarah resist entanglement even from the get-go cute wedding meet up. As they share the same strange rental car with a dangerously-directive GPS, each is cool to the idea of a hookup, occupied as they are with following the commands to enter various magic doors, usually to their pasts.

In a sense, when they cross time to his high-school musical and her home, they are telescoping the time it would take, maybe years to get to know each other. Never do the time-travel incidents provide soft sentiments; rather they help two potential lovers become grounded, quickly understanding the character of their fellow passenger.

Not all stops are felicitous, for death and disappointment accompany the travels as they do in real life. My amusement at this odd-ball romance is how real life intersects romance, a romance not adorned with hearts and flowers but with challenging past lives that give each one a chance to grasp love despite challenging unromantic memories.

Besides the reluctant romance for the two leads, minor roles help bolster the fantasy while exposing the challenges of finding and embracing romance. Katie Byron's production design from magic doors and rainy wedding to a highly-stylized high-school musical reinforces the glamor of memory and the disappointment of loss.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is both romantic and realistic, resisting cynicism, accepting reality, and embracing the possibilities that salutary moments bring even to the most guarded lives. Love turns out to be bold and beautiful.

This is a very special movie. It feels like a combination of a theater play and a film, simple backgrounds, minimal effects, maybe 10 main actors with significant speaking roles and the rest as extras. But the main actors are incredible.

It's a very deep film and it's definitely worth watching in a cinema. I feel this movie truly needs the big screen and the atmosphere of a theater to pull you in. It feels like an intense therapy session, making you reflect deeply on your own life.

I wouldn't recommend it for teenagers, because I think you need a certain level of maturity to appreciate it fully. But it's a movie parents should watch to reconnect with themselves, their past, their history and their experiences.

I loved the film, but I also understand it may not be for everyone. It challenges you to think: about the roles life assigns, about your own choices and about how different decisions might have shaped your life.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is a visually striking and introspective film that, for better or worse, lives up to the contemplative style of director Kogonada. The movie follows a unique premise, with two strangers (Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell) navigating their pasts through mysterious, magical doorways. Both actors deliver nuanced, compelling performances, anchoring the film with a quiet intensity. The cinematography is often breathtaking, and the film's gentle, melancholic score creates a dreamlike atmosphere.

However, the film's deliberate and unhurried pace is its most significant hurdle. While some will appreciate the slow-burn approach as a refreshing departure from standard Hollywood fare, others will find it frustratingly inert. The "journey" feels more like a series of disconnected, quiet moments than a cohesive narrative, and the refusal to rush its plot often makes the movie feel emotionally distant and slow. What could have been a truly epic and fantastical story is instead a muted, pensive character study. Ultimately, your enjoyment hinges on your patience for its meditative rhythm.

Some people will hate it.

(I've read the reviews here, and they do) But if your interests encompass more than sequels and multiverses you could really like this. I didn't really know what to expect from the trailer it looks like a romcom and it isn't, really.

There is an interesting dynamic between the two of them, I really did feel like they were on that big bold beautiful journey, and that I got to travel some of it with them.

The family scenes with both characters will really hit home to anyone who remembers when they discovered that their parents were mortal.

Beautifully shot, a bit dark in the colour palette for me.

It's a film about grief, letting go and trying to move on.

I'm still thinking about it, and thinking I want to go see it again because I think I missed something that could help.