A Grand Daring Stunning Adventure (2025) - Film Review

      A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, 2025.

      Directed by Kogonada.

      Featuring Colin Farrell, Margot Robbie, Kevin Kline, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lily Rabe, Jodie Turner-Smith, Lucy Thomas, Billy Magnussen, Sarah Gadon, Brandon Perea, Hamish Linklater, Yuvi Hecht, Calahan Skogman, Chloe East, Jacqueline Novak, Jennifer Grant, Shelby Simmons, Simon Khan, Jason Kravits, Danielle Kennedy, and Michelle Mao.

      SYNOPSIS:

      Two individuals who cross paths at a mutual friend’s wedding are granted the chance to revisit significant moments from their pasts, shedding light on the journey that brought them to their current selves, while also providing an opportunity to alter their futures.

      With a distinctive approach to a familiar romantic narrative, the film explores themes of nostalgia and regret, questioning whether the two central characters whom fate seeks to unite can actually maintain that uniqueness throughout the film. Kogonada’s A Big Bold Beautiful Journey begins with a lightly futuristic yet grounded premise, featuring a mysterious rental car agency presented as an almost empty warehouse, seemingly set up for auditions with a talent assessment crew gathered behind a table. The agency provides vehicles equipped with sentient GPS devices that encourage drivers to escape their dismal, defeated lives and embark on a big, bold, and beautiful journey.

      One such individual is Colin Farrell's David, who encounters car troubles during a stormy day and is compelled to visit the rental agency. Intriguingly, he has fateful interactions with Margot Robbie's Sarah, first encountering her at a wedding where she ambiguously proposes marriage and ominously warns him that she might end up hurting him. This unsettling combination casts doubt, especially since David is someone who seeks love. Nevertheless, the GPS robot (soothing yet demanding, voiced by Jodie Turner-Smith) guides them down the same path, leading them to a roadside diner where they enjoy cheeseburgers and decide to continue their journey together.

      At this point, the journey takes a serious and confrontational turn, delving into their pasts and leading them to magical realism doors that transport them back in time to pivotal moments in their lives. Most of these moments are filled with unresolved pain and hurt, closely linked to their unhealthy relationship patterns in the present. While the concept isn’t particularly new, the creative entry isn’t quite enough to redeem it. The doors that lead to painful memories include experiences of parental loss, high school heartbreak, and the deterioration of seemingly happy relationships. It follows the typical beats one would expect in a film with this narrative, introducing the clumsily executed notion that we are all actors in our own lives, searching for emotional truths.

      Although Kogonada (working from a screenplay by Seth Reiss) is praised for avoiding heavy-handed sentimentality in favor of a more nuanced approach that makes the characters and their struggles feel authentic, the film often feels like a meandering slog that becomes exhausting as the conclusion looms closer, with increasingly predictable and off-putting circumstances. The writing does not match the strength of the performances or Kogonada’s direction, which is bright and vividly colorful, bestowing a simple beauty to his low-fi concepts.

      Despite the filmmaker's intention to avoid being overly sentimental, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey leans more towards being a large, sugary mess. It doesn’t fully achieve the "big" or "bold" aspects, although it contains some striking visuals, making the "beautiful" part an accurate description. While the setup and emotional climax resonate, the journey lacks a spark, with Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie unable to provide the necessary depth, largely due to the shortcomings of the material.

      Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★

      Robert Kojder