In A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, there’s an underlying assumption that everyone—certainly everyone who shows up at a wedding—should be coupled up. David (Colin Farrell) and Sarah (Margot Robbie) show up as singletons to a wedding, and the film (metaphorically) rubs them together like flint, confident that there will be an inevitable spark.
The problem is that these two, despite their physical attractiveness, are not particularly interesting or engaging. David, a grown-ass man that still has his parents encouraging him to give relationships another try, seems like a mopey sad sack. Sarah, on the other hand, is movie-star gorgeous (after all, she’s Margot Robbie), but her flirting style is brittle and cold. Neither are especially charming, so it’s strange that they have to agree by the end of the evening not to sleep together (wait, do single straight people have to actively opt-out of sex at weddings?).
But lo, fate—in the form of a quirky rental car with a quirky talking GPS—pushes David and Sarah together not just on their journey back to The City where they both live, but on a big, bold, beautiful, magical-realist journey. On this leisurely journey their darkest, most soul-crushing, and shittiest memories are exposed to each other. Which means, of course, they fall in love! I mean, I think?
The concept isn’t bad, as such, as the GPS (smoothly voiced by Jodie Turner-Smith) calmly tells them where to go and when to pull over. The stops including things like a breathtaking field where a building-less door awaits them, or the exterior of a cafe that they both recognize, or the double-doors of a high school. The doors allow them to step into and revisit troubling moments from their past. For instance, David and Sarah get to re-live (in front of each other) the shittiest way they dumped a lover, which is super-cringey for all involved.
I’d say it’s a warts-and-all way to get to know someone, but really it’s just the warts part… which makes it a little surprising (and inevitable) when one character suddenly professes their love. “I know you!” they proclaim, then list off all the depressing scenes that we just witnessed as proof.
Now, I’m not a romantic, but what a way to fall into a relationship; your past hurts, humiliations, and inflicted cruelty on others are exposed all while your potential lover watches. Sure, it’s the equivalent of absolutely baring your soul, but I hope there’s more reason than that for two people to fall in love.
