Some doors bring you to your past. Some doors lead you to your future. And some doors change everything. In this whimsical adventure, Sarah and David meet at a wedding and, through an unexpected twist, embark on a magical journey that allows them to revisit pivotal moments from their lives, reflect on the present, and perhaps reshape their futures.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is a film that certainly lives up to part of its title: it is undeniably beautiful. Directed by Kogonada, whose meticulous visual style has been admired in earlier work, and written by Seth Reiss, the film offers a strikingly crafted aesthetic and a cast of actors capable of great performances. Colin Farrell, Margot Robbie, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge lend their star power, while Benjamin Loeb’s cinematography creates imagery that is often stunning. Yet despite these strengths, the film struggles to provide a story or characters that feel truly alive. What results is a film that looks distinctive and occasionally charms, but ultimately leaves little to hold onto.
The story follows David (Colin Farrell) and Sarah (Margot Robbie), two strangers who cross paths at a wedding. When their plans are disrupted by car trouble, they end up at a surreal car rental agency staffed by eccentric employees (Kevin Kline and Phoebe Waller-Bridge). Here, they are given a vehicle with a mysterious GPS that directs them to unexpected destinations. Waller-Bridge’s comedic flair and Kline’s dry eccentricity hint at an offbeat tone that could have carried the film in unexpected directions.
At each stop, they find magical doors that lead them back into significant moments from their pasts; childhood memories, old relationships, and unresolved regrets. The idea of revisiting one’s personal history through literal doorways is immediately evocative, a metaphor ripe with dramatic and emotional potential. In theory, it is an imaginative way to explore how past experiences shape the way people love, commit, and connect.
The film begins with promise. The rental agency scenes are quirky and entertaining, setting up the sense that we might be in for a gently surreal romantic comedy. However, once David and Sarah’s journey begins, the tone becomes uneven. The narrative drifts between lighthearted comedy, sentimental romance, and heavy-handed drama without ever finding balance. Instead of a gradual blending of moods, the film jolts from one register to another, leaving individual scenes underpowered. What could have been whimsical feels contrived, and what could have been poignant feels overstated.
A central weakness lies in the characters themselves. David is portrayed as a lonely man still longing for connection, while Sarah is sketched as a charming yet commitment-averse beauty. Their reluctance to open up to one another forms the heart of the story. Yet these traits remain surface-level.
The revelations provided by the magical doors are too simplistic to resonate. Sarah’s fear of love is reduced to the trauma of losing her mother and an abusive father. David’s trouble with relationships is explained away as his preference for the chase rather than true intimacy. These explanations are presented as defining psychological truths, but they feel thin; neatly packaged rather than authentically human.
The lack of depth affects the central romance. Farrell and Robbie are both strong actors, but the script does little to support them. Their chemistry sparks occasionally, but it rarely feels convincing. Robbie shoulders much of the emotional work, while Farrell’s David comes across as underwritten, and the final film climax feel inorganic and unearned. Without fully realised characters, it becomes difficult for the audience to care about whether the two end up together.
The film’s structure compounds the problem. Rather than allowing viewers to uncover meaning alongside the characters, the screenplay insists on spelling everything out. Each stop on the journey is explained, each revelation clearly labelled. Characters narrate what they are seeing and feeling, even when the images already make this plain. They tell the audience who they should feel, and it is abundantly clear when those feelings don't match up.
This redundancy slows the pacing and undercuts any sense of discovery. The best films invite their audience to interpret and connect the dots, but A Big Bold Beautiful Journey appears reluctant to trust viewers with that freedom. As a result, much of the story feels padded and predictable. By the time the film reaches its final act, the destination has long been obvious.
It is worth emphasising, however, that the film is visually accomplished. Kogonada’s precise framing and Benjamin Loeb’s cinematography create images that are at times breathtaking. The sets have a theatrical quality, and the surreal conceit of magical doors is realised with polish. For those who appreciate visual craft, there is much to admire here.
Strength of the visuals unfortunately highlights the weakness of the storytelling. The compositions may be beautiful, but when paired with dialogue that is stilted or expository, they lose their power. Rather than deepening the film, the imagery often feels ornamental; lovely to look at, but not supported by the emotional content required to make it meaningful.
Among the cast, the supporting roles provide the most entertainment. Waller-Bridge’s offbeat performance as the car rental clerk injects humour that feels genuinely playful. Kevin Kline’s understated mechanic adds warmth and eccentricity. These smaller moments suggest what the film could have been if it had leaned more confidently into its whimsical side.
By its conclusion, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey resembles less a sweeping romantic odyssey than a lightly sketched therapy session. The characters confront their baggage, but in ways that feel formulaic and emotionally muted. The film gestures at profundity, but rarely achieves it.
There are still moments to appreciate; a few poignant flashbacks, the occasional laugh, and striking visual flourishes. For some viewers, particularly those drawn to gentle romances or imaginative premises, the film will offer pleasures. But for many, it will feel like a missed opportunity; a beautiful shell without enough inside to make it memorable.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is in NZ cinemas from September 18, 2025
Find your nearest screening here
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