A Big Bold Beautiful Journey: An Ambitious Romantic Drama That Still Falls Victim to Cliches (Blu-ray)

The Film:

You've probably heard me mention a few dozen times at this point how filmmakers nowadays find it immensely difficult to break away from the oh-so-familiar formula when it comes to romances of any kind. The sad part is that they don't even seem to be willing to try doing something a little different to give the audience a surprise or two, basically causing them to be ahead of it every step of the way.

That said, there are some that at least try to dress it up a bit by throwing in additional elements on top of the formula, which brings us to Kogonada's "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey," a film that adds a fantasy flair into the mix in the hopes of mixing things up just enough to make for a memorable experience. With five-time Emmy nominee & six-time WGA Award nominee Seth Reiss penning the screenplay, could we finally get a romantic outing that stands apart from the multitude of disappointments of recent years?

As the film opens, David (Colin Farrell) finds that his car has been booted, forcing him to go to a rather unusual car rental company so he can make it to a wedding. This is where he meets Sarah (Margot Robbie), a woman uninterested in relationships or getting married (as opposed to David, who once dreamed of getting married and being a father, but drifted away from it). After a brief discussion, he declines a dance, which has her going off with someone else. However, on the way home, he takes up his GPS' peculiar offer of going on a "big bold beautiful journey," which leads him to a fast food restaurant that Sarah happens to be dining at.

The pair soon realize that they rented cars from the same unusual company, and upon finding that Sarah's won't start, they end up continuing the "journey" in David's. As they proceed, they begin to visit impactful moments of their lives along the way via magical doors, bringing them closer and closer together. Will these two, who had pretty much given up on finding the right person, finally form a successful relationship?

"A Big Bold Beautiful Journey" wants to tell a fairly standard tale of two people who have struggled to find their perfect match as they go about on a rather curious adventure that explores their troubled pasts. Naturally both individuals see themselves as quite flawed, with David thinking he'll never find "the one" and Sarah expressing fears of hurting someone or being hurt, and yet they proceed on this journey of self-discovery, not having much of a hint as to where it will lead to next.

On a basic narrative level, you won't really find anything that tries to get away from the same old standard formula, complete with its own cliched moment of "Will they or won't they?," but while it may stumble on that front, you do have to appreciate screenwriter Seth Reiss' attempts to add a little panache to it by attempting to incorporate fantasy elements, as well as strange splashes of comedy here and there, into it so as to try and stave off the usual monotony of an outing like this. The drama and fantasy components don't always mesh particularly well, and it's still not quite enough to overcome the blandness of the standard romantic progression, but again, the effort of trying to add something intriguing to it is appreciated.

What we're left with is a somewhat ambitious attempt to shake things up a bit, one that doesn't quite manage to get away from the usual cliches, but which makes a concerted effort to give you something a little different. If only a screenwriter would dare to not only do that, but also throw out the standard romance rulebook, then we might really have a shot at getting something truly special. Until then, I suppose we'll just have to take whatever small leaps forward we can get.

Video/Audio:

"A Big Bold Beautiful Journey" comes to Blu-ray in a 2.00:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of excellent quality, featuring a picture that's perfectly clear & sharp throughout the entirety of its 109-minute runtime. Likewise, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue & music in outstanding quality. Overall, Sony Pictures has done a marvelous job in both areas for the film's Blu-ray debut.

Special Features:

Love's Ever-Shifting Landscape: A Relatable Romance (6 Minutes): A featurette that has Kogonada, Colin Farrell, and Margot Robbie talking about the film.

The Magic Behind the Scenes: Crafting the Journey (6 Minutes): A featurette that explores the making of the film, featuring interviews with cast & crew.

A Big Bold Beautiful Musical Number (4 Minutes): A brief look at the rehearsal & filming of Colin Farrell's big musical number.

Conclusion:

"A Big Bold Beautiful Journey" may take a small leap forward for romances by at least attempting to add some intriguing fantasy elements to the same tired formula that's plagued the genre for quite some time, but sadly it's not quite sufficient to overcome the standard unimaginative cliches that accompany it, ultimately leaving us with a romantic drama that simply doesn't do enough to shake things up.

Score: 3/5

Available on Blu-ray starting tomorrow.

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