Big Significant Things opens on what seems to be a big, significant thing: the “World’s Largest Cedar Bucket.” We first meet our protagonist as he gazes at the bucket with an expression of quiet awe, though already we can see a hint of desperation in the wideness of his eyes and his attempts to engage a local about the bucket’s history. Craig is a twenty-something guy in a serious relationship with Allison, who is in San Francisco picking out the home they plan to buy together; we come to find out that Craig is on his cross-country, “world’s largest”-sightings trip alone, though Allison believes he’s traveling for work. As we come to find out, he’s not just looking for the best American landmarks; he’s on a journey of last-chance freedom and self-discovery before settling down with his “perfect” girl.

Of course, the “World’s Largest Bucket” is really only the spectacle of significance; on every level it’s empty, and as the destination for any road trip, it (and the other “world’s largest” things Craig visits) is the perfect symbolic representation for Craig’s project. In his attempt to find greater meaning – whether through reconnecting with the past at the “World’s Largest Man-made Illuminated Star” where he plans to meet his brother and recreate a photo from their childhood, or through providing alcohol for minors in the hopes of combatting loneliness or doing things he perhaps has never done, or through living the “single life” for a short while – Craig finds only disappointment.

And, to a degree, so does the audience. Part of the difficulty lies in the intimacy and immediacy of the film’s structure: we never see or meet Allison or Craig’s brother, though we hear from them frequently on the phone. Though the focus on Craig’s character (played by Harry Lloyd of Game of Thrones and The Theory of Everything), in this particular moment, is intentional, the investment in what develops in these relationships is difficult to establish when we’re given so little history or characterization. The structure also requires that Craig never articulate his motivation in taking the trip, whether he plans to follow through on the move to San Francisco, why he’s resisting a situation seemingly primed for success – it’s as though we are plunked in the backseat of a stranger’s car and expected to care about him, even though his behavior, from the very start, is at least morally suspect if not reprehensible.

This isn’t to suggest that Big Significant Things is not relatable. People lie to the ones they love, make stupid, spontaneous mistakes that become momentous without warning. They even cheat on their partners. The latter is suggested in the film just after Craig’s own indiscretion, when he witnesses one of his new-found friends making out at a house party, only to later give her a ride home to her waiting husband and child. And anyone can relate to the phone battle that Craig and Allison play out at one point – we’ve all been there. But is that really sufficient to sustain our interest? Some of this alienation is addressed through unique, interesting camera work, the best of which positions the viewer as a sort of silent witness in various moments. This is supplemented by certain touches that feel personally nostalgic to the filmmaker, like the use of postcard font for the titles and the “Glenn Hollis After Hours” call-in show Craig is constantly playing; they’re sweet.

Perhaps the film’s overall effect is intended to mirror the lesson that Craig is learning; perhaps we’re supposed to walk away realizing that though we thought the film would give us “big significant things” we are left to face the banality of the ups and downs of a regular life, a typical relationship. In that case, I would say that the film is a success. Craig’s awkwardness and inability to fit into the experiments he sets for himself are the sort of reality check that most road trip films are lacking; after all, real people don’t often walk up to strangers in strange places without stammering a few times – though even in this instance the film is alienating in that Craig approaches high school-age kids to offer them beer. It’s weird. But as the first feature-length film from writer/director Bryan Reisberg, Big Significant Things takes risks that sometimes bode well for the possibility of bigger, more significant things to come.

CONCLUSION: Though it features some lovely camera work and quirky, nostalgic touches as well as fine performances all around, Big Significant Things fails to engage – a major problem for such an intimate, snapshot story. The clever touches leave the door open for bigger expectations from first-time writer/directer Reisberg.