Bridget Jones's Diary

Sharon Maguire’s 2001 film follows Bridget, who resolves at New Year to put her life in order and write everything down, then lands between her boss Daniel and barrister Mark Darcy. The comedy comes not from events but from their state inside Bridget’s head. The diary narration runs as voiceover and almost never stops; if you do not warm to that voice, a flat triangle remains. Colin Firth had played Mr Darcy in the 1995 BBC serial and plays Mark Darcy here; Andrew Davies adapted both texts. That in-joke persuaded Firth to take the part. Before shooting, Renée Zellweger worked at the London publisher Picador as Bridget Cavendish, arranged by the producer Jonathan Cavendish. Part of the job was filing newspaper cuttings into the Helen Fielding folder, and those cuttings included pieces about the dreadful American actor cast as Bridget. Nobody there recognised her. It drew a single Oscar nomination, Actress in a Leading Role; Halle Berry won for Monster’s Ball. The four countries in the credits come from the co-production: Universal, StudioCanal, Working Title and Little Bird. A good fit if you follow the voice keeping the diary more than where the plot lands. Not for anyone who cannot keep the jokes about bodies and weight in the background: they are relentless.