Cert - 15

Run-time - 2 hours 5 minutes

Director - Michael Morris

Widowed and spending days looking after her two kids, Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) reopens her diary as she reenters the worlds of work and love.

To take the fourth instalment of a light rom-com franchise and make it a film about grief is a bold move. It's a move that makes Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy all the more admirable. Amongst the many laugh-out-loud funny moments there's an emotional core to the narrative which is tinged with tragedy.

"Do you miss daddy sometimes?" Bridget's (Renée Zellweger, on perhaps her best form as the titular character yet) young daughter Mabel (Mila Jankovic) asks early on. "I miss him all of the times" she responds shortly before reopening her diary.

It's been four years since Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) passed away, and while her friends encourage her at memorial dinners to get back into the dating world she's unsure as to if she should. After being forced onto Tinder she soon meets 29-year-old Roxster (Leo Woodall). However, while love and sex makes a reappearance in her life, the loss of her husband still hangs over.

There's a tenderness to Bridget's experiences and relationships, and indeed the decisions that she makes. The emotional beats throughout are wonderfully in tune and have a surprising impact. As Bridget lives with the loss of both Mark and her father (Jim Broadbent) - we see him telling his daughter in a flashback "it's not enough to survive you have to live" - Mad About The Boy details her learning to live with grief at the same time as living her life. It's these moments which deliver the boldness and unexpectedly touching details.

The relationships that make up the rom-com elements at play act as two distinct elements of Bridget's progression. There's no Darcy vs Cleaver - Hugh Grant returns as a back-from-the-dead Daniel Cleaver, stealing his brief scenes with an every-line-a-gem performance - to Roxster and science teacher Mr Walliker (Chiwetel Ejiofor - embracing his role with plenty of charm).

The romance and comedy are still put front and centre here, and there are a good deal of laughs to be had from start to finish. In many ways this is the British rom-com at its finest, making for a great audience experience.

One which keeps the familiar elements of Bridget Jones, her clumsiness and flustered nature are still very present, but brings in subtle and quietly held complexities in the key themes. This is in no way a downbeat, dramatic film; the closest it comes to trudging is in the overlong final stages, kept going by the consistent laughs. Emotional moments are present and bring a tender, thoughtful heart to the proceedings, but this is still foremost an uplifting comedy.

One that has something different to say, and says it boldly. Making for perhaps the best outing for Bridget Jones yet. If this is her final big screen outing, what a wonderful way to close her diary.

Four stars