Warning: this post contains spoilers.
I have to admit, I was never obsessed with the original Bridget Jones movies. I found them entertaining but didn't re-watch them or consider them my comfort-movies as many did. Therefore, when I heard about a new one coming, I didn't feel a strong urge or need to watch it. Then in one of the widow groups on social media, I read the main spoiler: Mr Darcy died, and Bridget is now one of us.
After reading the comments and how many found it triggering for various reasons, I was even less sure that I wanted to see it. I don’t feel my best recently, I didn’t think I need to add any risk of triggers to an already cloudy period. Then came my absolutely amazing manager, who just watched it and kindly invited me to the cinema because she wanted to see it again and she thought I would find it entertaining, regardless of the obvious. She assured me that it is sad but also very funny and since I was already in neck-deep in my anxiety and so welcomed any opportunity to have a laugh, I agreed.
I have to say I’m glad I watched it. I found the movie absolutely brilliant. My first thought was that finally a movie, where someone in the writer group did their homework, maybe even saw a real-life widow before. It was amazingly relatable, not overdone, raw, real; sure, sad at parts, but overall funny, true to the spirit of the Bridget Jones, sprinkled with some eye-candy.
Regarding the movie being triggering, I suppose it all depends where everyone is in their journey. I'm over five years and at the end, it didn't make me cry. It hit hard at some parts. Actually, there were three moments when I had to blink faster: when she remembered taking that photo with her dad (I love my dad so much, I would have been lost without him and mum in these past years); the part when she was looking at the box with the newspaper cuttings and she had Mr. Darcy's glasses and watch - I kept those too, they are in a safety box; and when she wrote her letter and felt she is doing everything wrong. I definitely felt that way at least once a day since I became a widow.
Although Bridget was feeling that she is doing everything wrong, she is actually doing something very right. Despite their trauma, her kids looked happy, surrounded by love and the little boy’s gesture with his song was just pure love. Oh yeah, that was the fourth part I nearly cried, but for a different reason than others might would tear up. Truth is, I was jealous. Jealous of that sweet fictional little boy for having memories with his dad - something that my little girl never had a chance to have. Family movies with dads still trigger me, maybe they always will. But it made the point beautifully.
Moving forward doesn’t equal forgetting.
Being a romantic comedy after all, it obviously had to have a love interest, but again, this was portrayed very accurately in my opinion. There can be lots of doubts, self esteem struggles and guilt when a widow finally starts dating. It's not easy to open your heart again, but it was done so cutely in this film. It seriously made me consider using her Tinder bio, and while I'm "awake" in that sense already, I was almost jealous. I mean I could parallel Bridget's ‘awakening’ with the perfect morning, the type when you wake up for the smell of fresh coffee and the birds are chirping - while mine was more like when you wake up on a Sunday morning for someone knocking on your front door, and it's just some random fundraising guy. I’m not talking about the hotness or age of the guy in the movie here. I'm talking about attention and effort. It's a pity that my tree climbing skills are worse than Bridget's and unfortunately there are no rangers in my local park. Jokes aside, I'm glad the writers choose for her not to end up with Roxster. The first is rarely the one again and that's why it hurts so much (and it was quite obvious from the minute Mr Walliker entered the screen that he will be the one for Bridget).
Overall, I think this movie should be made mandatory, so no widow/widower has to go through conversations and gatherings like Bridget had to in the first 10 minutes of the movie. It is real, mindfully done, extremely relatable and if you think it's heart wrenching - it's because being a widow is just that.
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