Some films play it safe. Kogonada’s A Big Bold Beautiful Journey does the opposite: it shoots for the stars with breath-taking sincerity, surreal flourishes and a premise that could easily collapse under its own weight. Miraculously, it doesn’t – or at least not entirely. Instead, what we get is a messy but heartfelt experiment that is powered by strong performances and moments of striking beauty, even if it stumbles along the way.
The story is both intimate and epic. Sarah (Margot Robbie) and David (Colin Farrell), two lonely strangers, are thrust together by a bizarre twist of fate that allows them to relive pivotal moments from their pasts. Childhood traumas, fractured relationships, old heartbreaks – everything comes flooding back, demanding to be faced head-on. The conceit works both as a magical-realism hook and as a metaphor for the ways we carry scars into adulthood. To love in the present, the film suggests, we must first heal what’s broken in the past.
Kogonada (Columbus, After Yang) brings a lush, dreamlike texture to these journeys through memory. A hallway glows with impossible light; a childhood bedroom expands into endless possibilities; grief dissolves into song as the film erupts into catchy musical numbers. These sequences are where the movie is at its best.
The performances keep the fantasy grounded. Robbie delivers a moving mix of vulnerability and defiance, while Farrell plays beautifully against her, his quiet, taciturn energy manages to balance the more outrage aspects of the narrative. When the film clicks, it feels alive, daring and surprisingly tender.
But for all its ambition, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey can’t outrun its flaws. The middle act drags badly as scenes are stretched beyond their natural end. There’s also a streak of self-indulgence: some of the dialogue-heavy monologues spell out themes we already grasp, and a handful of sequences tip into the cringe-worthy. The sincerity is admirable, but sincerity without restraint can feel a little exhausting.
And yet, despite the bagginess, it’s hard not to admire what the film is reaching for here. In an era dominated by safe storytelling, Kogonada’s willingness to risk failure feels almost radical. The film may not be the profound, seamless experience its title promises, but it is moving, ambitious, and sometimes quietly stunning. Like its characters, it’s flawed, vulnerable and still worth the journey.
