Sarah (Margot Robbie) and David (Colin Farrell) are both single, but guarded when it comes to new relationships. They are both afraid of being hurt again, due to things that have happened to them in their pasts. When the two strangers meet at a mutual friend’s wedding, there’s a definite spark, but they don’t act upon it. However, as they are separately driving back to the city, their paths cross once again, this time at a rest stop for a fast-food cheeseburger. Through a twist of fate—and thanks to a pair of quirky car rental company employees (Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Kevin Kline)—they embark on a Big Bold Beautiful Journey road trip together.
In their 1994 Saturn SL, with a very talkative and intuitive GPS (Jodie Turner-Smith)—because you never know when your cell phone is going to fail—they find themselves being led from one mysterious stop to another. At each location they find a door to the past, but they don’t know to who’s. These not only allow one of them to relive an informative moment from their own past, but also sheds light for their potential partner on how this moment shaped their present. And hopefully, by confronting some of their past demons, Sarah and David can be more open to a different (and less lonely) future, together.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, directed by Kogonada (The Acolyte, Pachinko, After Yang), is a fun, quirky and fantastical film that is a fresh take on the rom-com. The quirkiness of the film is just played matter-of-fact, which helps add to the charm and humor. David & Sarah are being sent on this wild adventure by their GPS , but never comment on the oddity of their situation. They just accept it and follow along—whether that means entering a red door in the middle of the forest, or a graffiti-covered door in the middle of an open field. They don’t know what’s on the other side, but they’re open to the adventure.
Over the course of the journey. David and Sarah must confront the loss and rejection that scarred them and left them jilted and closed off, but they also get to experience some of the joys they’ve had and share those with one another. These are things like visiting Sarah’s favorite art museum, or David being the lead in his high school musical. The latter was actually one of the highlights of the film for me—watching Colin Farrell sing and dance the lead in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying along with a bunch of teenagers while Sarah has a constant smile plastered on her face as she watches this go down was so much fun! This sequence was especially nostalgic for me as HT$ was the first Broadway play I had ever seen, so the songs instantly popped into my head.
The audience is taken on a bit of a rollercoaster ride with these characters. At first everything is happy and fun, and the stops feel more like dates. However, as the characters start to deal with some of the heavier moments from their pasts, this threatens to derail their blossoming connection. But that snarky GPS is determined to make this relationship work, and always has another trick up her sleeve and another stop planned on the pair’s journey. Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie have excellent chemistry with one another, making Sarah and David’s relationship feel not only possible but likely. And overall the film is quite charming and beautiful.
Sony has released A Big Bold Beautiful Journey on Blu-ray, DVD and 4K Digital. We were sent the Blu-ray release for review, which looks and sounds great. The picture is clean and clear throughout, and the colors look bold and bright. There are some truly beautiful shots in this film, such as the overhead of the colorful umbrellas at the wedding, the various colorful doors out place in the middle of nature, or some of the really creatively composed shots in the museum. In general, you can tell that a lot of care was taken in the look of this film, to add to the fantastical feeling, and that really comes through in the home video presentation as well. The audio track provides clear dialogue, and makes nice use of the stereo and surround channels to provide an immersive experience. This is especially noticeable whenever there is a rainy scene (and there are several), and also in the chaos backstage at the high school play.
The Blu-ray release contains a single disc packed in a standard HD keepcase, along with an insert with instructions to redeem an HD Movies Anywhere digital copy of the film. Our review copy did not include any slipcover. The disc contains just under 16 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast and crew.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:49:16)
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.00:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Audio Descriptive Service, French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French Audio Descriptive Service, Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Subtitles: English SDH, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, French, Korean, Spanish, Thai
- HD Movies Anywhere digital copy of the film.
- Love’s Ever Shifting Landscape: A Relatable Romance (6:15)
The director and stars talk about the story, the cast, the characters, and the tone of the film. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Kogonada, and actors Colin Farrell (“David”) & Margot Robbie (“Sarah”). - The Magic Behind The Scenes: Crafting the Journey (5:49)
The cast and crew talk about the playfulness of the script, working with the director, the visual style of the film, casting the movie, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Kogonada, producers Bradley Thomas & Youree Henley, and stars Colin Farrell & Margot Robbie. - A Big Bold Beautiful Musical Number (3:42)
The cast and crew talk about bringing the big high school musical sequence to life. Includes behind-the-scenes and rehearsal footage, and interviews with choreographer Galen Hooks, director Kogonada, and stars Colin Farrell & Margot Robbie. - Previews (10:01)
Trailers for Oh, Hi (2:19), Caught Stealing (2:31), Soul on Fire (2:34) and Eleanor the Great (2:36) play back-to-back.
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Blu-ray:
Digital (Limited time offer):
Extras:
Final Thoughts:
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is a fun, quirky and fantastical new take on the rom-com, and leads Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie are so delightful. The film also features some great supporting comedic performances by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jodie Turner-Smith & Kevin Kline. Sony’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, and includes a small but entertaining selection of bonus material. The film is worth a look for those interested in a unique take on the rom-com, or are a fan of the cast.
