A visually stunning but flat film about two people’s trek to revisit moments of their past that shaped them, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey lacks chemistry and connection.
When I first saw the trailer for this film, it was in the movie theater. With the darkness all around, the vivid colors leapt from the screen and each and every moment of what this could be was heavily intriguing. It wasn’t entirely clear about the story, but I knew I’d be buying tickets.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is about David, a man who feels lost and disconnected, who rents a car from an odd car rental company to attend a wedding. Once there, he meets Sarah, a semi-flirty and standoffish woman who attempts to get David to dance with her, but he gently refuses. They leave the wedding separately, but end up meeting again when her car breaks down on the road. From here, they go on a journey to visit various places (with GPS directing them) that are literal doors that open into their pasts.
I wanted this fantasy movie to grab me and pull me in, but it didn’t, which is disappointing. I’m not sure that I can put my finger on everything that resulted in this consequence, but I’m going to lay out a few missteps.
Before anything, though, this movie is absolutely stunning on screen. The bright blues and yellows and reds, the fantasy of well-built doors sitting in the forest waiting to be opened, and the costumes are lovely. There is a really fun sequence where David goes back to high school to relive a first crush and performs a number from How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, and with the school cast members and choreography, it’s easily the best part of the movie.
One of the biggest issues that I have, though, is that while David and Sarah are on their journey, a romance is supposed to be brewing. There is no romantic chemistry between Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie and the continual suggestion that this is going in that direction feels incredibly forced. They do have great friendship or sibling chemistry, but zero on the romance.
Although this film is set outside of the real world to some degree (most things that happen are realistic, but there is some allusion to them being cast in some sort of play and imagery suggests that they aren’t always living what they think they are), it feels artificial. The dialogue is pretentious (“When was the last time you had a fast food cheeseburger?”) and neither character feels like a fleshed-out human.
Also, I think Sarah says “David” at least 20 times throughout the movie. I’m not sure what they are going for with that (some sort of reminder that he is a real boy? Does he not remember his name?), but it becomes tedious and distracting.
While they work very hard to make A Big Bold Beautiful Journey “something,” the magic is missing. As you watch, it feels like you should be connecting – when a character yearns or cries about something – but it just feels empty. Beautiful and empty. Which is too bad, because it does feel like a unique idea, it just needs more.
Runtime: 109 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: R
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? No
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
Available:Torent on Prime Video or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
When I first saw the trailer for this film, it was in the movie theater. With the darkness all around, the vivid colors leapt from the screen and each and every moment of what this could be was heavily intriguing. It wasn’t entirely clear about the story, but I knew I’d be buying tickets.
