Life is messy, and dating is even more so. What would happen if you could experience specific moments in your life that shape your relationships? What if the person you want to date (and who wants to date you) was able to share that experience? This is the central theme in Kogonada’s latest release, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey.
David, Colin Farrell, attends a friend’s wedding, where he meets Sarah, Margot Robbie. The two of them find each other attractive, but they don’t take it further than those initial conversations. The next day, while on the way home, they cross paths again and go on a journey together. The summary from SONY pictures is on spot without giving much away:
Some doors bring you to your past. Some doors lead you to your future. And some doors change everything. Sarah (Margot Robbie) and David (Colin Farrell) are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on A Big Bold Beautiful Journey – a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present…and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.
The audience is taken on a cinematic journey through a variety of movie styles. At times, the visual choices and narrative rhythm evoke the whimsical precision of Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. In other moments, the story dips into the surreal, reminiscent of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. One sequence exploring David’s past even unfolds as a high school musical, adding a playful layer to the storytelling.
A personal favorite of mine is a series of scenes staged in minimalist theater—barebones and raw, down to the dusty floor that left the actors’ feet visibly dirty. These moments strip away spectacle and focus on emotion.
It’s not just the script or the set design that transports us—the cinematography plays a vital role. The deliberate use of crisp or grainy visuals mirrors the aesthetic of the TV shows and films from the eras we’re dropped into, grounding the segments in its own time and texture.
The opinions on this film appear to be polar extremes; I happen to be on the like it/enjoyed it side of the scale. I suggest checking it and deciding where you land on the scale. I also recommend choosing the GPS package option the next time you rent a car.
Director: Kogonada
Cast: Colin Farrell, Margot Robbie, Kevin Kline
MPAA Rating: Rated R for language.
Selig Rating: 4 stars
Runtime: 1h 39m
Release Date: September 19, 2025
Genre(s): Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Movie Site: A Big Bold Beautiful Journey website
Trailer: A Big Bold Beautiful Journey trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well, there was nothing else…
1 Star – Total waste of time.