[Movie] Movie Review: A Big bold beautiful journey

Two strangers who meet at a mutual friend's wedding have the chance to relive important moments from their pasts, illuminating the path that led them to the present and gaining the opportunity to change their futures.

The movie was written by Seth Reiss and directed by Kogonada. The movie is an ambitious romantic drama anchored by Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie. Even though it achieved moments of genuine charm and aesthetic beauty, it wrestles with an identity crisis as the movie attempts to marry high-concept surrealism with grounded emotional vulnerability.

In the movie, David (Colin Farrell), nursing grief and stagnation, meets Sarah (Margot Robbie), a woman with a free spirit who sabotages relationships and carries parental scars, at a mutual friend's wedding. Soon they become partners on a road trip after David gives her a lift. This trip leads them through memory and time, opening surreal doorways that give them a chance to relive painful moments from their past and force them to confront all the baggage that kept them from opening up to love.

One of the key strengths is the natural warmth David and Sarah carry throughout the movie, making it engaging even when the narrative mechanics stall. The cinematography is fine, from the color down to the dreamlike texture and, finally, the unapologetic sincerity committed to an earnest emotional payoff.

Where it falls short is in scene pacing, which can be seen in the memory sequences that vary wildly in impact, and the lack of internal logic, offering no real framework for how and why the supernatural journey was happening. Finally, the tonal tension in the movie was unable to convince me whether it was a grounded character study or a surrealist fairytale.

A big, bold, beautiful journey if watched with the writer's intent in mind, it certainly speaks volumes about lessons regarding how our past can affect us if not dealt with, as seen in David and Sarah. However, it remains a worthwhile watch for audiences who appreciate striking visual aesthetics, big emotional swings, and stellar lead performances.

Rating: 65/100

Originally posted through scrobble.life/movies.