© Sony Pictures
Kogonada’s A Big, Bold, Beautiful Journey is exactly what its title promises: a visually sumptuous, sometimes silly, often tender trip that trades in whimsy and regret.
The film follows Sarah (Margot Robbie) and David (Colin Farrell), two strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and are suddenly swept through a series of surreal doors that let them relive-and sometimes rewrite-key moments from their pasts.
It’s a high-concept romantic fable that wears its heart on its sleeve and its imagination on its neon cardigan. 19 year-old-me would have thought of this film as being incredible, and clever-clever. Jaded 47-year-old me has enough knowledge of heartbreak and fallibility that it becomes a much harder watch.
Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell make a quietly persuasive pair. Robbie grounds the film with a warmth and brittle humour that keep the more outlandish sequences emotionally readable, while Farrell leans into a rueful charm that suits the story’s blend of melancholy and mischief.
Kevin Kline and Phoebe Waller-Bridge pop up with small but memorable turns, adding comic texture and human friction when the narrative needs to be re-anchored in reality. The cast’s commitment helps sell a premise that could easily have drifted into preciousness.
Visually and sonically the film is a treat: Kogonada frames each fantastical set piece with painterly care, and Joe Hisaishi’s score-lush, wistful, and occasionally sweeping-gives the movie a fairytale sweep that amplifies its emotional beats.
Production design and costume work often feel like little storybooks come to life, and there are genuine moments of cinematic wonder where image, music and performance line up perfectly and lift the film beyond mere gimmickry. There’s the lingering feeling that the film changed tone mid-production and that can be felt from scene to scene.
The script frequently shifts gears-from deadpan satire to sentimental melodrama to outright fable-in ways that can feel uneven. Midway through, the film loses momentum as it toggles between clever set pieces and introspective detours that don’t always add up. Some emotional reveals arrive thinly sketched, leaving you wanting a sharper line between the concept’s whimsy and its human stakes.
© Sony Pictures
Despite the wobble, A Big, Bold, Beautiful Journey is ultimately a warm, entertaining watch for those who don’t mind their romcoms with a side of surrealism. It’s imperfect but disarmingly likable: a film where design and music often outshine the plotting, yet the performances pull you back in.
If you’re up for a movie that’s playful, occasionally baffling, and sincerely felt, this one’s worth the ride.
