- Director: Michael Morris
- Screenplay: Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer, Abi Morgan
- Cast: Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leo Woodall, Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent
- Cinematography: Suzie Lavelle
- Editing: Mark Day
- Score: Dustin O’Halloran
- Genre: Romantic comedy
- Runtime: 125 minutes
Mark Darcy is dead. Killed in a humanitarian mission in Sudan. Who will wear that hideous Christmas sweater?
Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger, perfect posh British accent as ever) has matured significantly since the first two films. Gone are her hedonist 30s, along with watching her weight obsessively. After a third movie focusing on her pregnancy (and the speculation of which of her suitors was the father), she now has not one, but two kids by Mark Darcy. This is Bridget with baggage, struggling with the twin storms of parenting and widowhood, Darcy’s ghost looming large over her life (Colin Firth appearance as a spectre at appropriate points).
She still has the requisite ‘man trouble’; her dalliance with hunky park ranger Roxster (Leo Woodall) who is closer in age to her son, and her children’s strict teacher, Mr Walliker (Chiwetel Ejiofor).
The screenplay, co-written by series author Helen Fielding adapted from the book of the same name, hits the right balance between the exploration of grief and the prospect of moving forwards; I found it amusing, but not laugh out loud funny. The film is a veritable who’s who of British actors – Josette Simon, Gemma Jones, Celia Imrie, Joanna Scanlan. Isla Fisher has a cameo as Bridget’s neighbour, which feels like it was meant to be bigger part, a victim of the editing process perhaps?
This fourth chapter in the life of Ms. Jones ties up her story with a bow, so it’s unlikely we’ll see her again lest the dastardly Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) meddles in her love life again.
My rating: 7 / 10
SilverScreen 