One way to salvage a misguided movie is to load it with heavyweight talent. In the case of “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey,” Sony’s new romantic fantasy, that strategy means enlisting acclaimed South Korean director Kogonada (“Columbus,” “After Yang”) and two effortlessly charismatic stars: Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie.
Alas, if only this were just a work-for-hire job for the filmmaker—convincing A-listers to tag along—rather than an acclaimed Black List script that Kogonada actively sought out and wanted to make.
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Written by Seth Reiss, “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” may have looked good on the page, but in execution, its magical realism falls flat, or perhaps more accurately, is full of hot woo woo air. Too often it comes across as corny, dreamy, and clichéd—a feel-good music video stitched together with soaring, overcooked sentimental pop. It feels like Kogonada’s first real misstep, and a strong case for the filmmaker to return to self-generated original screenplays.
The premise itself is shaky. On his way to a wedding, an unmarried bachelor (Farrell) tries to rent a car. At a strange, art-installation-like rental agency, two eccentric “employees” (played by Kevin Kline and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who seem more like destiny’s angels) persuade him to try the “special” GPS, despite his insistence that his phone will suffice. Soon, the device—voiced by Jodie Turner-Smith—begins coaxing him on, inviting him on a “big bold beautiful adventure.”
At the wedding, he meets Sarah (Robbie). Sparks fly immediately, but she cynically insists it will all end badly, so why bother? Their almost-romance should stop there, but Magical GPS™ intervenes: her car won’t start, he gives her a ride, and soon they’re swept into an adventure that whisks them through portals into their pasts—revisiting traumas, regrets, and unspoken longings—in order to confront mistakes and possibly build a future together.
If that sounds saccharine, it is. Not even Kogonada’s visuals, a warm armada of wall-to-wall pop songs, or the stars’ charm can mask the film’s mawkish naïveté. Reiss’ screenplay hinges on enchanted doors—fairy-tale-like portals that let the pair relive or even alter past moments. At times, these detours allow poignant fantasies, like Sarah saying goodbye to her mother before she died. But despite occasional glimmers of resonance, the conceit rarely generates genuine depth. By the time he confesses love to her, it lands as perfunctory plot machinery rather than earned emotion.
“It’s funny how the most beautiful places make you feel the most alone,” Farrell’s David says early on in the movie. While perhaps handsome lighting from Benjamin Loeb, wistful music from composer Joe Hisaishi and elegant composition from the always visually thoughtful Kogonada can dress these moments up a little bit, they just can’t totally mask the fundamental tonally schmaltzy creakiness that pervades much of the movie.
To be fair, in lesser hands, the film might have been laughably cheesy. Here, it’s merely an over-calibrated disappointment—forever straining to be heart-swooning and head-spinning but settling for flimsy, prefabricated uplift.
Part of the issue is that the central characters’ woes feel banal. Beautiful, stylish, and affluent, their obstacles boil down to familiar fears of commitment, hypersensitivity to heartbreak, and general avoidance of vulnerability. These are valid anxieties, but recycled ones—and far less persuasive for characters in midlife. Haven’t we seen this all before? Shouldn’t love at this stage demand more courage?
Lily Rabe, Billy Magnussen, Sarah Gadon, Brandon Perea, Chloe East, and Hamish Linklater round out the cast, but the film rests squarely on Farrell and Robbie. They have chemistry and a guiding hand in Kogonada, but ultimately “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” is undone by a syrupy, over-romanticized screenplay untempered by the director’s usual delicacy and restraint. [C]
“A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” opens in theaters on September 19 via Sony Pictures.
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2008. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
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