Enchanting Journey ultimately sidetracked
I approached Kogonada’s A Big Bold Beautiful Journey with a healthy amount of skepticism. With one foot in the real world and the other firmly planted in the fantastical, my guard was up for something that labored to be whimsical or a film that revolved solely around its gimmick. Imagine my surprise when I found myself laughing at its genial, genuine humor and charmed by its two leads and their deft touch. Imagine my disappointment as I watched it self-destruct during its third act, becoming a laborious, melodramatic exercise right before my eyes.
The couple at the center of this romance consists of David and Sarah (Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie, respectively), who, despite their put-together appearances, are two severely damaged people. Little do they know their paths are about to cross, thanks to a rental car company that’s a front for a celestial agency that specializes in tinkering with people’s fates. This outfit specializes in nudging people in the right direction toward happiness through a series of magical therapy sessions.
Individually, David and Sarah are headed to the same wedding. They each experience car trouble and wind up at a vast warehouse containing two cars, two people (Kevin Kline and Phoebe Waller Bridge) behind a table and a couple of workers moving variously shaped doors about. (If your mind turns to Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. when seeing this, join the club.) The auto each is given is so old it lacks modern conveniences. As such, each is required to rent a GPS that winds up having a mind of its own, directing them to “randomly” meet after the wedding and travel together.
What ensues is a journey in which each is taken to doors that have been haphazardly placed along a circuitous route. They might be found in a perhaps a forest or field and when they pass through them, it leads them back to key moments in their lives. One takes David back to his high school on the evening his heart is broken by his first love. Another transports Sarah to the hospital to the day in which her mother dies alone. It’s hoped that with experience and hindsight, each will be able to learn from these do-overs, heal themselves and go on to lead more fulfilling lives, perhaps together.
Premises such as these are tricky to pull off but at the start, Journey works. Seth Reiss’ humorous script is filled with sly winks to the audience which creates a conspiratorial bond between the viewer and the filmmakers. It’s as if they’re saying that while the conceit is hooky, it’s the lessons that are learned that’s important.
That the film suddenly changes the rules is the first sign of trouble. Instead of being his younger self when they pass through the magical portals, suddenly David finds himself in the role of his father addressing his 17-year-old self. Scenes in which the couple are alone on a vast stage, as if rehearsing the scenes they’re about to find themselves in also prove jarring. What with a character proclaiming earlier that, “Sometimes we have to perform to get to the truth,” this comes off as a heavy-handed attempt to drive that home. Granted, Kogonada and Reiss make it known early on that anything goes where the various realities they share with us are concerned, yet these sudden shifts yank us out of the story, a fatal mistake with a premise as fragile as this.
You’d be hard-pressed to find two more appealing performers than Farrell and Robbie and it’s their mutual charisma and combined chemistry that keeps us hooked. You can see them together as a couple and being veteran performers, they’re each capable of subtly conveying the vulnerability that lies beneath their movie-star looks. Their presence makes this a pleasant journey, even though the outcome disappoints.
As for the final half hour, the movie slows to a crawl as David and Sarah respectively go through their final doors. While the dramatic stakes for each are high, the resolution of each seems a bit too pat. More troubling is the prolonged nature of these denouements, the snail-like pace of each robbing them of dramatic heft, the final revelations landing with a thud.
During Journey’s first hour, I laughed repeatedly, marveled at the witty banter that ensued between Farrell and Robbie and was charmed by their acting and the lessons David and Sarah were learning. For the most part, I liked the movie I was watching. Ironically, for a film that’s ultimately more about its characters’ destination than their journey, it ended up leaving me feeling stranded and adrift. In Theaters.
James stellar in Swiped
Rachel Lee Goldenberg’s Swiped examines Wolfe’s career, one that began with great promise and was unjustly scuttled, only to be resurrected through her own perseverance. Bill Parker, Kim Caramele and Goldenberg’s script casts a wide net, covering 12 years, charting the rise of Silicon Valley App tech, yet it never feels overwhelming or ungainly. The story moves efficiently and is engaging throughout, propelled by a fascinating, incident-heavy story and a strong lead performance.
At 19, Wolfe (Lily James) was eager to take on the world and more than a bit naïve. Having worked in an overseas orphanage, she created an app that would help connect volunteers to these institutions. She gets a rude awakening when she travels to Los Angeles in 2012 to secure funding to expand, her project seen as quaint but hardly a money-maker. However, she crosses paths with Sean Rad (Ben Schnetzer), founder of the floundering tech firm Cardify. Based on her intelligence and drive, he hires Wolfe to manage the marketing arm of his company.
Wolfe soon cuts through the ranks of the male-centric organization, her innovations with Tinder putting Cardify on the map, propelling it to success. Yet, over time, it becomes obvious she’s not being given her due. Rad and his partner, as well as Wolfe’s lover, Justin Mateen (Jackson White), brush her to the side repeatedly when credit is to be taken for the company’s rise. She endures this, thinking it’s the price of getting ahead. However, Mateen’s dismissive behavior leads to their breaking up, which results in him harassing Wolfe in private and at the workplace, an untenable situation that leads to her resigning and suing Cardify for damages.
The settlement that comes her way proves bittersweet, as Wolfe finds herself unable to find employment, blackballed from the tech industry. How she regroups and finds success once more, only to be dealt another setback, constitutes the rest of the film.
Those looking for a Social Network-like examination of Tinder and other dating apps, are likely to be disappointed with Swiped. This is solely about Wolfe’s struggles with sexual harassment and is a pointed indictment of the boy’s club culture that facilitates, wallows in and covers it up.
No punches are pulled showing the trauma Wolfe endured, as James lays herself bare in portraying the depths her character reached, her excessive drinking fueling her paranoia and masking her anger. The actress is equally convincing in displaying Wolfe’s vulnerability, which makes her displays of strength all the more relatable and triumphant.
Swiped proves to be a testament to female agency and empowerment and could be easily dismissed as a kind of Norma Rae for the tech era. Yet what makes it work is Goldenberg’s subtle approach, as she resists the temptation to beat us over the head with her message or paint Wolfe as an outsized heroine. Her straightforward approach and James’ vulnerable performance make this an accessible, relatable story of heroism and is all the better for it. Streaming on Hulu.
Familiarity throws Senior for a loss
In 2007, Mike Flynt walked on to try out for the Sul Ross State University football team in Alpine, Texas. What made this a special event is the fact that at the time, he was 59 years old. Having been expelled from the school during his senior year for excessive fighting, Flynt realized he had a year of eligibility left and decided to go back and fix, what he called, “the greatest regret of my life.” Needless to say, he became a media sensation, bringing the sort of publicity to the school you couldn’t pay for, all of which culminated with Flynt on the offensive line for a series of downs in one October game.
Eisele takes more than a few liberties with the story, casting Flynt (Michael Chiklis) as a blue-collar construction worker with an estranged son. (Flynt was actually a strength coach for Texas A & M) He’s also portrayed as a troubled man, haunted by his demanding father who would put him through demanding physical ordeals and instilled in him the notion that most problems could be solved with your fists. That Flynt takes the same approach with his son Micah (Brandon Flynn), comes as no surprise.
Running a bit over 90 minutes, Lurie keeps things moving as we cover the movie’s familiar narrative beats. Flynt meets opposition from his wife, Eileen (Mary Stuart Masterson) as she is concerned about his health, anger from his son over his priorities, Coach Weston’s (Rob Corddry) resistance to play him, as well as looks of disbelief from his much younger teammates.
Of course, all these problems are solved with perseverance and faith. Eisele wisely doesn’t overplay this aspect, the introduction of Christian values as the reason for Flynt’s success mentioned only on a couple of occasions. Rather, hard work and family unity are seen as the prime motivators, a relatable approach that prevents the story from becoming too outlandish.
Fortunately, Lurie has assembled a solid cast that brings the authenticity necessary to ground the story. Chiklis’ brand of intensity and strength is used to great effect in bringing Flynt to life, while Masterson’s quiet demeanor, which belies a fierce devotion to her husband, nicely compliments her co-star’s approach. And while Flynn is a bit too obvious as their son, Corddry, known for his comedic chops, takes a much-welcomed reserved approach to Coach Weston. Corey Knight, Chris Becerra, Terayle Hill and Chris Setticase all capably portray the teammates Flynt takes under his wing.
Competently rendered but containing nary a surprise, The Senior is the sort of family fare taken in on a weekend afternoon, one that will be generate positive feelings around the dinner table and a bit of inspiration for all. Though ultimately forgettable, if the film can provide a short respite from the insanity surrounding us, it should be given credit for that. In Theaters.
I want to see these movies.