A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY
Starring: Margot Robbie, Colin Farrell, Kevin Kline, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Director: Kogonada
ADRIANO
Let's inspect the adjectives of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, shall we? Big: as grand as the movie wants you to think it is, it's actually remarkably small-scaled, operating on one narrative schtick. Bold: it plays way too safe for an otherwise bold director like Kogonada, creating emotional catharsis that feels unnatural and confused. Beautiful: beyond being visually similar to a Russo Brothers movie, the beauty of its storytelling is nonexistent and fake, compounded by the fact that Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie have no chemistry in sight. It's more of a small, bland, emotionless journey, honestly.
NICK
To tell a successful love story, the key component is chemistry. In A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, there just isn't any evident between Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie. Then again, with this script, how could you reasonably tell? There are concepts and scenes that clearly show what this film could have been, but the execution of the overall story is rough. There isn’t even anything visually big, bold, or beautiful. Something dynamic could have helped make up for the weak story, but the film feels fairly low budget. Maybe someone can take a crack at this story down the line since this attempt is a failure.
AMARÚ
Like Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (yes, I’m mentioning a film I adored just to show it some love), A Big Bold Beautiful Journey has some aspects that are quite lovely. Unlike Downton, the seemingly formulaic bits leave something to be desired. Journey is so desperate to intelligently subvert romantic expectations that it smothers the chemistry between the effortlessly charismatic Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell. While the big, bold, and unexpected things spearheaded by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Kevin Kline are magical, it’s the mushy, sappy, beautifully cliché romance between our leads that missed the mark.
PAIGE
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is a big, bold letdown. Despite Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie's best efforts to do what they can, the story just lacks passion. This all comes down to a messy and jumbled script that is all over the place. The film aims to be this unique, whimsical, and impactful journey, but ultimately gets lost in its own emotionally hollow tale. It’s a bummer that this one never quite reaches its potential, as it’s aesthetically stunning and has an intriguing premise worth exploring. In the end, I think it’s for the best that director Kogonada sticks with directing his own scripts to avoid another mishap like this.
