Story
After renting separate cars from an obscure agency, David (Colin Farrell) and Sarah (Margot Robbie) meet at a mutual friends’ wedding. From the first moment, there seems to be something between them, but both are battling personal demons, and neither is brave enough to make anything happen.
Luckily for them, David’s car seems to have other plans. When David agrees with his GPS to embark on a big, bold, beautiful journey, his car takes him to Sarah, and Sarah’s car breaks down.
Together, David and Sarah set off on an illuminating adventure of self-discovery. They walk through doors that lead to traumatic or profound moments in their pasts and re-examine some of their most difficult days, along with some of their darkest hours. They also begin to get to know one another in a real and raw way, discovering the healing power of bringing the most vulnerable parts of themselves out of the shadows and into the light.
Themes
Emotional avoidance; family dysfunction; self-sabotage; unresolved trauma; loneliness; regret; isolation
Violence
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey has some violence. For example:
- Sarah tries to stab David with a fork.
- David hits a deer with the car he’s driving. This kills the deer and flips the car over and over until it comes to a stop on the road. He and Sarah are both uninjured, but the car bursts into flames.
Sexual references
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey has some sexual references. For example:
- One character tells another that they’ll need to give the ‘kiss of life’.
- Sarah talks about how she cheated on her previous boyfriends with the aim of hurting them before they could hurt her.
- Sarah recounts how she was ‘screwing’ her professor while her mother died in hospital all alone.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey shows some use of substances. For example:
- People drink at a wedding reception.
- David asks Sarah if she’d like a drink. She declines.
- Men smoke cigarettes in the waiting room of a hospital.
- Sarah tells David that, hypothetically, he would have got her a white wine.
- Sarah mentions a love of dry white wine.
Nudity and sexual activity
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- Sarah sits on a bed in a hotel room while a man takes his shirt off.
- Sarah caresses David’s bare back.
- Sarah and David kiss.
Product placement
The following products are displayed or used in A Big Bold Beautiful Journey:
- Sarah and David eat Whoppers with cheese at Burger King, and Sarah says that she eats them every day. Sarah also mentions and eats onion rings.
- A person carries a box of Whitman’s Chocolates.
- U2, West Side Story, Bye Bye Birdie and Pac Man are all on posters displayed in a room.
Coarse language
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey has frequent coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is a romantic fantasy that feels a bit like a theatre production. The plot is clever and unique, while the cinematography ranges from spartan to surreal.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is best suited to viewers aged over 16 years.
These are the main messages from A Big Bold Beautiful Journey:
- Life is better if you’re open to it.
- Everyone is capable of being content – they must just choose to be.
- Some doors lead to your past; some lead to your future; some lead to heartbreak and others to healing; and some doors have the potential to change everything.
Values in A Big Bold Beautiful Journey that you could reinforce with your children include vulnerability, honesty, courage, trust and compassion.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the real-life consequences of things like:
- behaving recklessly to protect yourself being hurt
- ignoring or supressing emotional trauma
- refusing to take chances or live your life because someone in your past thought you were unworthy.