Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy wasn’t entirely the film I thought it would be, and all for the better. Sure, there’s elements of the previous films – and our one and only Bridget putting herself in ‘situations’ – but it’s also more mature, reflective and bittersweet.

This time around, Bridget is alone again as she’s been a widow for the last 4 years, after Colin Firth’s Mark Darcy was killed during a humanitarian mission in the Sudan. It’s portrayed carefully, and with a reality that gives it gravitas. This also now makes her a single mother with 9-year-old Billy (Casper Knopf) and 4-year-old Mabel (Mila Jankovic) to look after and she’s grieving, which is highlighted as we hit the anniversary of his death. Trapped in an emotional midpoint, trying to raise her kids and live the everyday, she’s aided by her older group of friends we’ve known all these years, plus Hugh Grant’s Daniel Cleaver, who may be the same flirty individual underneath but has a whole new respect and devotion for Bridget, as she navigates the world in a way she never expected to.

While I’ve not read Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones novels, I’ve certainly known the films all the way back to 2001 and over those *whisper it* 24 years so much real life has been experienced, and many lifetimes lived. I mention this because something you don’t always realise about growing up with a fictional character is how much you know, or how attached you actually are, until much further down the line. Throw into those other big moments in their fictional life, that are reflected in yours, and suddenly you’re hooked and genuinely sad when time does its thing, and kind characters die off, and we’ll come back to that.

So, in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, she’s beginning to move on and – if you’ve seen the trailers – you’ll know this takes the form of Leo Woodall’s Roxster after she joins a dating app, as well Chiwetel Ejiofor’s science teacher Mr Walliker, with the latter initially more on the fringes. While there’s a rosy road she’ll take on this new sensual expedition, the Michael Morris directed film (co-written with Dan Mazer and Abi Morgan) eventually pushes us towards a steady pathway for our lead. Adding in reflective, soft-focus cinematography, from Suzie Lavelle, there’s a visual fusion of sadness and anticipation as the story progresses – particularly highlighted in a beautifully filmed early sequence in the kitchen, with friends, lovers and advice popping in and out of the scene, which reminded me of that ‘seasons’ shot in Notting Hill, and it works poignantly well.

What also keeps the heart of the film alive is that original group of friends, including Sally Phillips’s Shazzer, Shirley Henderson’s Jude, and James Callis’ Tom (plus Sarah Solemani’s Miranda) – and all they represent. Supportive from the very start, honest to the chaos of life and through the hardest times. This is a major reason why the film works. Every character is still the person we remember but there’s evolution, which becomes a desire to change for the better – accompanied by drinks, laughs, and definite tears.

Also in that zone is the return of Hugh Grant as Daniel, and while it could balance on the edge of ‘but how?’ it’s achieved in a perfect way. His character is aware that he barely survived and this time leans into distant doubts and past regrets, yet without getting too twee or melancholy. Leo Woodall is also solid; there’s elements of his One Day character Dexter here but he’s charming enough and never one-dimensional. And then there’s Chiwetel Ejiofor’s skilled turn as the strict teacher, Mr Walliker, a man who’s also stepped out of life in many respects, but remains hopeful and himself, his character also develops and it’s a great performance.  

While I focus on the more philosophical moments of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, as it features poignant sections that could be flooded with grief – specifically featuring Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth that suddenly broke me – there’s always a lingering beauty of the ‘now’ that exists, even if it takes time for Bridget to find it and allow herself to be herself once more. Renée Zellweger is absolutely brilliant here, right through the seasons, and we also get snippets of silliness that we know so well, and it’s needed, yet there’s also a wiser, deeper Jones that’s the product of all the things that have happened to her.

It could be said I’m not typically Bridget’s target market, yet I don’t think that matters with such an iconic character, and as Zellweger’s past Jones performances are recapped on-screen as the credits roll, there’s a suitable sense of farewell to the overall story – and it feels right. This is a new chapter ahead for Miss Jones and you can’t just help but admire her. Just as she is.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is out on Digital to Own: https://amzn.to/4jaw9AQ

It also comes to Blu-ray and DVD on 2 June – Pre-order here: https://amzn.to/4iOA86k