You may think you know what happens in Bridget Jones’s Baby but if you have seen the film, you may not.
The film of Bridget Jones’s Baby from 2016 has two love interests. Mark Darcy from the stories we know and love and also a new character of Jack Qwant played by Patrick Dempsey. This is not the case in the book at all. It’s the same old fight as books one and two, Mark Darcy vs…. Daniel Cleaver.
Yes, the Mark Darcy / Colin Firth plot is the same, Bridget and Mark have broken up over the years and are no longer together. It’s heartbreaking in either book or film form. They meet again at the christening of their god daughter years after the break up and one thing leads to another. Sparks reignite and they spend the night together. The trouble is that Bridget and Daniel do the same thing.
Bridget is then pregnant and confused at what to do or who the father of her baby is. It’s an utterly fascinating change to have one of the men being Daniel Cleaver, the irresponsible seducer of just about every woman he encounters. It gives the reader the chance to see what that would be like from Bridget’s perspective and to see the flaws and quirks of both men. Cleaver’s at times brutal honesty and disregard and Darcy’s inability to say anything nice or to tell Bridget how he feels.
It’s the same old story but it’s new. The men might be much as we left them but Bridget has changed. Society has changed since the last time we joined her. Being single isn’t quite as frowned upon as it used to be. Her friends are all more grown up but still making their beautiful mistakes. Her world splits between her smug married friends and the young single people who want to go out. It’s a clashing of the worlds, the old and the new. She’s braver and bolder and far more confident in being on her own than she ever was before.
A lot has been made of her sudden slimness but it’s nice that weight isn’t the centre of the books anymore even if that does mean that she’s slimmer than she used to be. She has evolved.
The story brings us nicely to the next step in Bridget’s life. Being a mother. We see most of that in the next book and soon to be next film but the instincts are there and it’s wonderful to watch her change still further from how her life has been into something new. To change the things she needs to and keep those things or people most important to her.
I will not spoil for you whose baby she does have. I love that the film was shot with multiple endings with even the main cast being unaware who the father was until the screening at the premiere. It must have been a wonderful surprise for them and a great way to avoid leaks.
So the next part of Bridget’s story continues. What happens next is bumpy. If you’ve not read the next book yet it’s a hard one. I have a review of Mad About the Boy from February 2014 if you would like to read ahead. Mark Darcy fans should brace themselves.
Bridget Jones will return to our cinema screens with the film of what is currently the last book in the series next year. Will that be the end of Bridget’s story? I wouldn’t bet on it. With Bridget we’ll always want more.
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