Your enjoyment of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey will be largely determined by your levels of cynicism and an unquestioning willingness to suspend your disbelief. Some may recoil. But, if you're willing to embrace the wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve-ness of it all, you're likely to have a very good time.
This off-beat fantasy rom-com sees Colin Farrell reunite with his After Yang director Kogonada for a dizzyingly whimsical rumination on relationships, the baggage we bring into them and the walls we build to protect ourselves.
He plays David, a dapperly dressed singleton who appears to have met his match when he encounters the spellbinding Sarah (Margot Robbie) at a mutual friend's wedding. Their instant, crackling chemistry is undeniable, but these two commitment-phobes retreat before they risk getting hurt.
The universe, however, seems to be conspiring for them to be together.
After they both hired cars for the nuptials from a strange rental company run by two oddball employees (Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Kevin Kline), David and Sarah's paths cross again due to the machinations of their cars' seemingly sentient GPS (voiced by fellow After Yang star Jodie Turner-Smith).
The GPS takes them on a magical journey through their respective pasts, where they learn more about one another and themselves, and slowly begin to lower their defences.
They relive formative experiences in their lives, from David having his heart broken by his co-star in his high-school musical, to Sarah not being there for her mother's death, and the ugly demise of significant romantic relationships.
There are moments of true poignancy, like when David meets his father (Hamish Linklater) in a hospital waiting room and when Sarah gets a chance to talk to her mother (Lily Rabe) about her romantic woes.
Sure, some of it is a bit overwrought, and it is too long in the middle act. It could also be argued it is over-sentimental, even veering into schmaltzy.
But if you're willing to surrender to the sheer romance and unapologetic gorgeousness of it all - it's an expedition worth embarking on.
