A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
Filmmaker Kogonada’s first feature film was the quirky 2017 indie “Columbus,” an intergenerational love story set against the backdrop of the Columbus, Indiana architecture scene. It received rave reviews and was a minor hit around here because of the local angle. He followed that with the 2021 sci-fi drama “After Yang,” starring Colin Farrell. And now directs his first big-budget, major studio release, “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey,” pairing Farrell with Margot Robbie in a most unconventional love story.
The set-up
The two protagonists, David and Sarah, are so good-looking, bathed in the light of cinematographer Benjamin Loeb’s loving camera, we just know they are destined to fall in love. But my, what an interesting ride it is getting there. These two meet cute in the cutest “meet cute” situation in the movies, a wedding. They are both single, childless, and have each been through enough failed relationships to populate a prequel. Jaded by the sting of these missed opportunities, neither seems particularly keen on pursuing the other, particularly Sarah, but again, we just know they are meant to be.
Odd business
When David’s car becomes unusable, he rents a car from a peculiar rental business. While the initial set-up is believable, the dark, weird, mildly spooky rental agency feels like it belongs in another movie. We’re not sure exactly what’s going on here until after David meets Sarah at the wedding and the two part ways. On the return trip (of several hundred miles), the GPS insists David pull over to the side of the road and walk through a wooded park. Here, he again meets Sarah, who has rented from the same company, and whose GPS has also insisted she pull over at the exact same location.
The two would-be lovers then proceed to walk through a door – located in the middle of nowhere – which places them squarely in the middle of a childhood memory of David’s. Later on, they’ll walk through another door featuring one of Sarah’s memories. And away we go with a story based on pure romantic fantasy – two young singles reliving their pasts with one another.
Two best vignettes
The two most poignant mini-journeys are Sarah’s memory of her mother’s early death, and David’s starring role in his senior year high school musical – which also happened to be the night his girlfriend broke up with him. In the middle of one scene, David – who appears 40-years-old to us, but apparently still a teenager to his classmates – breaks character to confront his girlfriend, advising her the guy for whom she’s leaving him will cheat on her.
Entertaining but light
As they confront these sometimes painful memories with each other, David and Sarah grow closer together. Such is the premise of Seth Reiss’ original screenplay. Kogonada’s gentle direction keeps the off-the-wall plot structure grounded. And Reiss wisely doesn’t overburden us with any scientific mumbo-jumbo about how and why this all works. If we just go along with it, “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” is entertaining, albeit light as a feather.
There’s nothing really wrong with “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey,” but I challenge you to recall any fine details about this film six months from now. Certain movies – and certain scenes in movies – still stick with me years, and even decades, after viewing them. This one will not. While certainly more mainstream than “Columbus,” this one lacks the sheer originality of that picture.
Should have aimed higher
I don’t mind fantasy – when it’s done well and pulled off effectively – but I must wonder why it was used here. It would have been more difficult to write a screenplay in which David and Sarah talked through various life-changing episodes from their past – rather than re-living them together – but wouldn’t the pay-off have been better? I would have truly enjoyed seeing these two characters in that kind of an ongoing, witty-dialogue type situation. Reiss’ screenplay seems to take the easy way out by simply inventing a gimmick which forces the young lovers to encounter their dark memories. That’s okay, I guess. But I would have liked to see these filmmakers aim higher.
Andy Ray‘s reviews also appear on https://townepost.com/tag/film-review/