A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
Despite its colorful, bubbly sheen, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is very much a Kogonada film.
After establishing himself as a leading voice in telling subtle stories about human connections with his first two features, Columbus and After Yang, the writer/director builds on that foundation with another remarkably assured work that proves he's just as adept with a decent budget.
It also shows that he plays well with others. In his first film working with someone else’s script — he's helmed episodes of Pachinko and the Star Wars series The Acolyte post-Yang — Kogonada makes Seth Reiss’ screenplay sing with elevated versions of the crisp visuals, nuanced performances and, most importantly, consistent tone that define his independent efforts.
That commitment is essential in making a fairly outlandish yet romantically entrancing premise succeed. Essentially a kinder, gentler version of David Fincher’s The Game, lonely hearts Sarah (Margot Robbie) and David (Colin Farrell) find themselves acquiescing to the comically methodical whims of a “rental car agency” that's actually a kind of supernatural matchmaking service, run by an unnamed good cop/”bad” cop duo expertly played by Kevin Kline and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Each given hilariously outdated Saturn sedans with omniscient GPS devices, the strangers embark upon their titular adventures that quickly dovetail into a shared experience. Though initially hesitant to open up to one another, they’re encouraged to loosen up by taking GPS-mandated stops and walking through familiar doors in unfamiliar places.
The memories that await them on the other side of the portals lovingly offer key insights into their hearts, minds, and souls — an extreme form of speed dating that celebrates their assets and also exposes their regrets and forces them to confront these unresolved issues. The “car renters” clearly knew that these experiences would prompt such genuine connections, and Robbie and Farrell exude impressive chemistry at every juncture.
If it’s all a little corny and on-the-nose, that’s kind of the point. This is a hyperbolized romance, after all, and obvious needle-drops make sense in this universe. But what makes pretty much all of it work is the central premise of cutting to the quick of a relationship and jump-starting it through extreme means rather than drawing it out and risking its failure at the hands of Father Time. To those ends, our heroes put in the work, and it’s a pleasure to see how it all plays out.
Grade: B-plus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, the Fine Arts Theatre, and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: Matt Kennedy)
