Despite opting for a slightly more serious and emotional approach – Bridget Jones still spreads the love.
This fourth instalment in the well-regarded British movie franchise, sees Renee Zellweger’s iconically-hapless Bridget navigate a new chapter in her life – as a widowed single Mum.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, most will know her husband, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) – and father to her two now school-aged children William (Casper Knopf) and Mabel (Mila Jankovic) – has been killed off, after meeting his demise by enemy fire on a humanitarian mission.
While to some fans this could have caused uproar, fortunately it is handled tastefully – Firth even cameos in ‘ghostly’ flashback scenes – and leads to Bridget’s emotion that runs through the veins of the movie.
With the help of friends and family – including former lover-turned-confidante Daniel (Hugh Grant) – she slowly gets her life back into order, by taking on a young nanny (Nico Parker), returning to her job as a TV producer – and even ending up on dating sights like Tinder.
This leads to a film of almost two halves. The first is predominantly centred around her fling with handsome free-spirited park ranger – and far younger 29-year-old man – nicknamed Roxster (Leo Woodall), and the trials and tribulations that surround it. Then the second part spirals into a different direction as she receives unexpected attention from stoic school teacher Scott Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor), as Bridget reinvents herself as a more pragmatic parent.
Fortunately, despite the more weightier tone, the tried-and-tested Bridget Jones formula is still there – with plenty of humorous moments to be had. Just probably slightly less and iconic than before.
But that in fact definitely doesn’t make it a lesser movie – this is arguably superior to 2016’s Baby – and will probably linger in the memory longer due to its more welcomed emotional underbelly.
How much longer they can keep ‘milking’ the character is up for debate, but after nearly a quarter of a century – Zellweger’s Bridget is still going strong.
Rating: 3.5/5
Gavin Miller
FILM REVIEWED AT: ODEON LUXE PETERBOROUGH
Odeon Luxe Peterborough & Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough, Out Now
Cast: Renee Zellweger, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leo Woodall, Hugh Grant, Nico Parker, Sally Phillips, Emma Thompson, Mila Jankovic, Casper Knopf, Sarah Solemani, Isla Fisher, Gemma Jones, Celia Imrie, Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth
Running Time: 2 Hrs 5 Mins
Director: Michael Morris
For all the latest film information & showtimes at Peterborough’s Odeon Luxe & Showcase Cinema De Lux cinemas go to www.odeon.co.uk and www.showcasecinemas.co.uk
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