A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025) Columbia/Drama-Fantasy RT: 109 minutes Rated R (language) Director: Kogonada Screenplay: Seth Reiss Music: Joe Hisaishi Cinematography: Benjamin Loeb Release date: September 19, 2025 (US) Cast: Margot Robbie, Colin Farrell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Kevin Kline, Jodie Turner-Smith, Lily Rabe, Hamish Linklater, Jennifer Grant, Sarah Gadon, Billy Magnussen, Chloe East, Michelle Mao, Shelby Simmons, Jason Kravits, Simon Khan, Lucy Thomas, Brandon Perea, Yuvi Hecht.
Rating: ** ½
Think of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey as Charlie Kaufman Lite. It’s rooted in magical realism, but it’s about as deep as a flatbread pizza. It touches on some heavy themes (loss, trauma and relationship adversity) yet tries to keep things light and breezy. It’s a film at odds with itself.
Two people, David (Farrell, The Batman) and Sarah (Robbie, Barbie), meet at the weeding of a mutual friend. They’re attracted to one another, but they both have good reasons why they shouldn’t get together. They’re both bad at relationships. David tends to bail when things get too serious. Sarah is a chronic cheater. She even warns him not to get too close because she’ll just ending up breaking his heart.
The titular trip begins when the GPS (voice of Jodie Turner-Smith) in David’s rental car asks him if he wants to take a big, bold, beautiful journey. He says yes. It tells him to stop at a Burger King where he spots Sarah enjoying a meal. They talk some more before parting ways. They’re not apart for very long. Sarah’s rental car won’t start. David’s GPS tells him to bring her along. They’re directed to various locations where they find magical doors leading to significant events in their lives (David’s high school play, Sarah’s mother dying). Basically, it’s a journey of self-discovery for both parties.
They say a trip is not defined by the destination but the journey getting there. I believe that to be true. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey confirms it. However, it does tend to meander. It takes its time reaching where we all know it’s going. The road trippers make some interesting stops along the way. Some, like the high school play (the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), are lively. Others, like a visit to a lighthouse from David’s past, not so much. One in particular, Sarah visiting her mom (Rabe, Vice) who sees her as a 12YO (we see her as an adult), rings with emotional resonance. Sarah’s never forgiven herself for not being there when she died. It’s a touching reunion. Unfortunately, the movie falls emotionally flat in other scenes.
The two leads do an excellent job playing lonely, troubled souls seeking an emotional connection despite admittedly being bad at relationships. Robbie, playing a slightly older Manic Pixie Dream Girl, is especially good. She gets off some good lines and, at the same time, makes you care about her. Farrell shows why he’s still in the acting game. He perfectly plays an emotionally unavailable guy disappointed with how his life has turned out. His parents always told him he was special, but things didn’t turn out the way they hoped for him. What’s really great is the chemistry between the two movie stars. They go well together even though their characters actively fight it.
One of my favorite things A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is the inclusion of Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda) and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag). They play the owners, “The Mechanic” and “The Cashier” respectively, of the car rental place where David and Sarah obtain the cars they use to get to the wedding. They’re both great. Bridge is dryly profane while Kline is just this side of mysterious. It’s good to see him again. It’s been a while since he’s been in anything.
Directed by Kogonada (Columbus), A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is gorgeous to look at thanks to cinematographer Benjamin Loeb. The main characters are shown walking in the rain with umbrellas on a few occasions. It perfectly captures the romantic atmosphere Kogonada is looking for. The soundtrack sounds like something from an early 2000s movie like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Garden State. It’s definitely an attractive production. It’s the pacing that makes it less than great.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is okay. I didn’t hate it, but I don’t love it either. It doesn’t commit to being a romantic drama or magical realism. It seesaws between the two never striking the right balance. The tonal imbalance doesn’t kill it, but it definitely holds it back. Still, it’s a trip worth taking once.
