Warning: This post contains spoilers for A Big Bold Beautiful Journey!At the risk of being too on the nose, it’s fair to say the title of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey sets viewers up for an epic, life-changing ordeal — or at the very least, it sets its characters up for one. And yet, by the end of the newly released Kogonada movie, is that what’s happened? For Sarah (Margot Robbie) and David (Colin Farrell), that’s what we’re led to believe.
However, based on the critical reception to A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, it may not feel that way for viewers. The movie tracks the two characters as, after renting cars from the same company (The Car Rental Agency, naturally) to attend the same wedding, they embark on a mystical adventure meant to unlock their pasts and break through their emotional blocks.
After going through a series of impossible doors together and revisiting old memories, Sarah and David part ways right before their final trials, which involve Sarah confronting her deceased mother (Lily Rabe) and David coming face-to-face with his teenage self (Yuvi Hecht). Through these interactions, both receive the last lessons they need to learn to finally live a content life.
The Doors’ True Purpose In A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
The trailers for A Big Bold Beautiful Journey set up the mystery of the various doors Sarah and David go through. There’s the rounded red door that takes them through to a lighthouse David once visited, and the graffitied metal door that leads into Sarah’s favorite museum, and so on. Each one represents a key aspect of their lives and is often tied to a poignant, life-defining moment.
When it comes to where the doors come from, though, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey isn’t exactly forthcoming. If you’re going into this movie looking for concrete answers, you’ll be disappointed, as it’s less about how it all works and more about the journey itself. Hence, the hyperbolic title.
The doors don’t seem to come from anywhere, though they’re clearly tied to The Car Rental Agency, its odd employees, and the guardian angel-like GPS (Jodie Turner-Smith). Perhaps the best explanation for them is they’re an extension of a higher calling — a spiritual entity of some sort that is meant to help people rediscover themselves and move forward with their lives.
The Mystery Of The Car Rental Agency
Initially, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey starts out as a movie set in a normal, everyday world. However, it isn’t long before the quirky creeps in, with David finding his way to The Car Rental Agency, run by two employees played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Kevin Kline. Everything about the set-up is odd, from the employees’ German accents that come and go to the empty warehouse they’re based in.
Much like the doors, The Car Rental Agency and its oddities are never explained. The employees could be actual angels, or they could be wizards. The movie isn’t very concerned with providing answers, almost as if it wants to nudge the audience into just accepting some whimsy into their lives. Admittedly, there are worse messages for a movie to send.
One thing did strike me, though, and it’s the way The Car Rental Agency seems to function as an audition for a play, or a movie. The employees have headshots of the people who come in, and David even ends up asserting that he isn’t an actor, something Waller-Bridge’s character makes him repeat, like a director would guide a performer.
It adds a meta layer to A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, though I’m not sure the rest of the movie builds on that once it gets preoccupied with David and Sarah’s arcs. Still, if we’re going with the theory that this is all some kind of divine intervention, then perhaps the Car Rental Agency employees are auditioning the people who come in to discover just who fits best together.
Do Sarah & David End Up Together?
I’m not sure there was much question here about whether Sarah and David would truly fall in love by the end of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, but to satisfy all inquiries: Yes, the two lost souls do find their way back to each other and start a real romantic relationship.
This comes after Sarah reaches a breakthrough with her commitment issues while talking to her mom, and David learns to appreciate himself in spending time with his teenage self. He returns his car and goes back home, where Sarah later finds him and takes a leap of faith.
Rather than striving for happiness, Sarah proposes they try to live a content life together, a piece of advice she got from her mom. Sarah’s spent her whole life running from true romance, always convinced she’ll end up hurting the other person, but now she’s ready to give something real a try while fully accepting that anything could happen in their future.
The Sarah and David from the start of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey wouldn’t work together since they hadn’t put in the introspective work needed to move forward with their lives. Now that they’ve embarked on, yes, a big journey, both together and apart, they’re ready for love.
The True Meaning Of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
The ultimate message of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is clear: Don’t be afraid of love, and don’t be afraid of yourself, or your pain. And I guess don’t run away from weird car rental places, even if the vibes are off. Save for that last one, the new movie promotes the kind of uplifting, feel-good sentiment many films before have championed.
It’s a relatable, deeply human message, so it’s no surprise it’s one that comes around quite frequently. Each door Sarah and David go through teaches them something important; David learns to take in the moment at the lighthouse, and Sarah understands the value of sharing something special with someone new at the museum.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is exactly what its on-the-nose title says it is, at least for Sarah and David. For us viewers, it’s a rather familiar journey that we’ve watched countless characters go on, but it’s also one we could use a refresher on from time to time. Maybe at the end of the day, we’re also Sarah and David, trying to find our way forward through the world.
Or maybe, like The Car Rental Agency, it’s all just an odd experience that doesn’t require any explanation. With something like A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, what you get from it is what you put into it. So just enjoy the ride.
- Release Date
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September 19, 2025
- Director
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Kogonada
- Writers
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Seth Reiss
- Producers
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Bradley Thomas, Youree Henley, Ryan Friedkin, Seth Reiss
