The Past Is Not Behind You – It’s Just a Door Away: Margot Robbie’s Deep New Film Makes You Rethink Your Life

In Kogonada’s latest cinematic creation, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, Margot Robbie delivers a mesmerizing performance that is equal parts intimate and expansive. Known for her versatility and emotional depth, Robbie steps into the role of Sarah, a woman on the precipice of emotional rediscovery. At a surface level, the film appears to follow a classic romantic trajectory—two strangers meet at a wedding. But beneath its elegant narrative structure lies a profound exploration of memory, identity, and the transformative power of love, brought to life through magical realism.

From the moment Sarah walks through the first mysterious door—one of many in the film that serve as portals to the past—the audience is invited to accompany her on an emotional excavation that blurs the line between what is remembered and what is felt. Sarah is not simply reliving memories; she is confronting them, reinterpreting them, and ultimately allowing them to reshape her understanding of self.

Margot Robbie as Sarah: Vulnerability Meets Strength

Margot Robbie brings a remarkable vulnerability to Sarah. We meet her at a point in life where she is emotionally dislocated—present in the world, but disconnected from her inner truth. Her journey begins not with purpose, but by chance, at a wedding where she meets David, played by Colin Farrell, another stranger tethered to unresolved fragments of his own past.

There is a quiet sadness in Sarah when we first encounter her. Robbie plays this not with overt melancholy, but with restrained emotionality—a glance held too long, a sentence paused before completion. It is this delicate balance of strength and softness that makes Sarah so compelling. As the film progresses and she steps through various metaphorical and literal doors, her internal landscape is slowly illuminated.

Through shared memories—some painful, some joyful—Sarah begins to re-engage with the parts of herself that had been dormant. Robbie’s performance becomes more textured with each memory, echoing the complexity of what it means to heal not through forgetting, but through remembering differently.

The Doors as Metaphors: Unlocking the Self

At the heart of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey lies the motif of doors—not just as architectural elements, but as powerful symbols of transformation. Director Kogonada speaks of his fascination with “the theatre of doors,” saying: “When I see a door on a theatrical stage, it always sparks the imagination. That door has the potential to lead us anywhere—into the mundane or the magical. Doors represent possibilities.”

For Sarah, each door becomes a threshold into a different version of herself—the daughter she once was, the friend she left behind, the woman she might have become. These are not fantastical journeys in the traditional sense. Instead, the film’s magical realism roots the extraordinary within the everyday. A family kitchen, a school gymnasium, a city park—ordinary spaces become sites of extraordinary emotional resonance.

As Sarah steps into these scenes, so too does the audience. And it is through Robbie’s subtle and deeply felt performance that we experience not just what is happening to Sarah, but what is changing within her.

Chemistry with Colin Farrell: A Quiet Romance Born of Understanding

One of the film’s most captivating aspects is the chemistry between Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell. Their connection is not based on sweeping declarations or grand gestures, but rather on mutual recognition and shared vulnerability. As Sarah and David journey through each other’s memories, they don’t fall in love with idealized versions—they fall for the fractured, beautiful truths that make each other human.

Robbie and Farrell never overplay their scenes. Instead, they allow the silences, the glances, and the shared emotional experiences to speak louder than dialogue. Their romance feels earned, not constructed. It’s a love that arises from intimacy without artifice, one that viewers can believe in not because it is perfect, but because it is profoundly honest.

Magical Realism with Real-World Weight

Kogonada’s use of magical realism is nothing short of masterful. The concept of stepping through a door into another time or place might sound whimsical, but the emotional weight behind each journey gives the film a gravity that resonates deeply. This is not fantasy for fantasy’s sake; it is a way to explore the most universal human experiences—regret, nostalgia, forgiveness, and hope.

Robbie, in particular, thrives in this genre. Her portrayal of Sarah never veers into sentimentality. Instead, she grounds the fantastical in a performance that feels lived-in, personal, and emotionally precise. Whether she’s watching a younger version of herself make a pivotal mistake or embracing a memory she once tried to forget, Robbie ensures that every moment feels authentic.

Kogonada himself says, “I also want something that feels relatable to my everyday life.” And that is exactly what this film achieves. For all its magical elements, it is ultimately a story about real people, with real emotions, navigating the timeless journey of becoming who they are meant to be.

Visual Poetry and Theatrical Design

Visually, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is stunning. The doors are not merely props but pieces of visual poetry—some grand and ornate, others simple and weather-worn. Each is uniquely designed to reflect the memory it unlocks. Sarah’s doors are often surrounded by textures and colors that reflect her emotional state—muted blues for grief, warm ambers for moments of joy, cold grays for regret.

This attention to design extends to the film’s cinematography. Robbie’s presence is framed with the kind of care typically reserved for paintings. Her expressions, no matter how subtle, are captured in close-ups that allow viewers to witness the shifts occurring within her. The camera lingers, not invasively, but lovingly, giving space for emotional truth to unfold.

A Film That Asks You to Reflect

At its core, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is not just about Sarah and David—it is about all of us. It asks the audience: What doors have you closed? Which ones are still waiting to be opened? Through Sarah’s eyes, and Robbie’s exquisite performance, we are reminded that the past is never truly behind us. It lives within us, waiting to be understood, accepted, and reimagined.

Margot Robbie’s Sarah is not a character of fantasy—she is a reflection of the quiet struggles and silent hopes that many carry. And in taking this journey, she shows us that even amidst the mundane, there exists the potential for the magical. For new beginnings. For a big, bold, beautiful life.

Sony Pictures Entertainment India releases A Big Bold Beautiful Journey in theaters across India on September 19, 2025. With Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell delivering career-defining performances under the direction of the visionary Kogonada, this is not just a film—it’s an experience. One that invites you to open the door to something unforgettable.