IR Film Review: A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY [30West/Sony]

There is something beautiful in "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey". It is an experiment but reminds one what films used to look like. The film is about hope and love and yet is peppered with the messy stuff that goes along with it. Kogonada, who directed Colin Farrell in the independent "After Wang" returns here with a similar concept film but adjusts it more to mainstream. It is a magical realism premise where a "car rental company" brings together two different people who would never have found each other. They both have their hang-ups and yet as the film builds it completely takes it down. There is a steeped, almost analog progression. The concept of a trip conceived by a higher power and yet gently pushing it along reminds one of stories told in "Twist Of Fate" or "Only You". "Big" is used as a big reference point and at one point, there is an absolutely beautiful scene with Margo Robbie and her mom that happens. "Big" is used as a small reference point through the movie but especially in this space. The woman playing her mom looks like Elizabeth Perkins which would have been utterly sublime but instead Lily Rabe plays her. While that takes away the existential, it still retains some of its power.

The film is vert well directed. It could be too sweet in different hands but as an R rated progression the swear words really give it a sense of freedom while still retaining a wistfullness. Kevin Kline and Phoebe Waller-Bridge play into the plot with a beautiful comic mischievousness. The doors the couple is led to lead into windows of the mind but it seems all very practical. What is also interesting that the film optimized of the Stagecraft (though one wouldn't know unless you look at the credits). Farrell seemingly also did this because it is something lighter than he has done in a while. Robbie in a way too but the great thing about the script is that it doesn't pretend to be real but also not fake. It is about existing in its own universe (even though LA and NY visuals are never this close). At one point, Robbie and Farrell are looking down on the Earth talking about what if they were each other's dates at a wedding. It is wonderfully intercut that really captures the un-reality but also in a way capture how memories work.

I know Farrell probably wanted to do this with "A Winter's Tale" a couple years ago but doing a film like this needs a script on the precipice but with really precise direction. Having worked with Yogonada, Farrell probably vouched for what he could do. It tears one up at the right spots but knows precisely where it is going. Farrell regressing to a kid in high school and then having Robbie sing from the audience hits just right. The exposition doesn't become overwrought. One scene in a diner where the characters are aware and yet not against former paramours all at the same table is also a delicate balance because the story point are leap frogging back and forth...but it never gets confusing because the acting is top notch and its control precise while still flowing in constant motion. There is also a time when the characters are in a void, much like "Dogville" so when they turn around things change. It is hard to pull off but it does work. It is beautiful seeing this fdilm released by a major studio but development and the actual making of the film looks to be more 30West who usually distributes through NEON. However this does have much more wider appeal so with this cast it was a good business move for distribution. "Big Beautiful" does have its angst but not overwhelmingly so. There is an ache to it and yet very much a timely and timelessness.

The film doesn't make the path easy but it does move well downstream. It in many ways takes a coda to do so. Farrell talks to his father and then at one point becomes his father. Robbie relives a place she wasn't because it requires confrontation. The movie is intrinsic but also classic. Hopefully it doesn't not get lost because it has a charm, which works well on a big screen with an audience though it will likely work at home as well. "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey" plays by old Hollywood's rules but with a story structure (like "Everything Everywhere All At Once") that allows for some very effective and moving scenes that speak to chemistry (which is subtle and lingering between Farrell and Robbie). It is one of those movies that wants to make you watch where they will go. A-

By Tim Wassberg