spoiler visualizarrae.s 11/01/2024
We're all a bit Bridget
I revisited and reread the book at the same time, so possibly my feedback is also on Letter, hmm (and it's basically the same because... WHAT FAITHFULNESS!
Helen Fielding was surgical in creating this character, and Sharon Maguire in directing the screen adaptation was even more surgical. There are few adaptations that are as good as the literary work, and I believe Helen must have been furious watching the end of the movie because, between us, it was an ending more in the style of Bridget Jones than in the book. Her running in just her panties, with those ridiculous running shoes, in the middle of the snow, chasing Mark Darcy, was SO Bridget Jones, haha. Those involved in the adaptation really took the time to read the book and find actors who fit perfectly into each character. Renée Zellweger and Hugh Grant were exceptional. It's like Bridget is that friend everyone has, you know? The one who's a bit clumsy, always gets into hilarious situations, but it's totally impossible not to love. In fact, it's these mishaps and her chaotic, and at times, bipolar personality that make her so loved and dear.
Her dilemmas about weight, disastrous encounters, her inability to articulate correctly in a social conversation because she's too nervous, and the eternal drama of choosing between Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver, with that dash of acidic humor... it's the icing on the cake. It's as if she's narrating our own romantic confusions and attempts (often failed) to keep life in order. Who hasn't wanted to be a 'super someone' and maintain a career, relationships, family, desires, an extraordinary body, stop drinking and eating too many sweets?
And the way she writes in the diary and narrates the situations is simply hilarious. We laugh along with her, get emotional in the more complicated parts, and in the end, we're hoping everything works out in her life. It's one of those dramedies where you really feel like you're part of the character's life. This immersion is amazing; I love feeling involved.
Bridget is that: she's like a literary and cinematic version of our internal mess, and that's why we love her so much. Honestly? I'll never get tired of rereading this book.