Cinema audiences in Keswick have been wowed by the new Bridget Jones film which was part filmed in the town and the surrounding Lake District.
Jonathan Moore, co-owner of the Alhambra, said interest in Mad About the Boy, the fourth film in the Helen Fielding saga starring Renée Zellweger, was well beyond his expectations and said the cinema was twice or even three times as busy as first anticipated.
“It has triggered the highest pre-sale of any film before Barbie both nationally and for us. It’s been really busy and prosecco-tastic because we have not sold as much prosecco as this before!” said Jonathan. “I saw it on Sunday and it’s a really excellent film.
“People have been really moved by it. It’s a real tear jerker and much deeper than you would imagine. People think of it as a frivolous, frothy, franchise film but it’s much deeper than that.
“Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) is dead and she (Bridget Jones) is a single mum in her 50s. The way the film deals with death is very touching. There is also a lot of laughter.
“It’s based in London as she is living in Hampstead and at one point the film follows Bridget on a school trip to the Lake District and there is a drone shot of the bus travelling down Honister Pass towards Buttermere.
“It’s a beautifully done shot and there was an audible ‘Ooooh’ from the audience when it was shown. That was really sweet. The next line is when the children get off the bus and the teacher says that they are in one of the most beautiful parts of the world and you can hear people in the audience murmuring.”
Jonathan said there had been a lot of mothers with their daughters watching the film and females made up about 70 per cent of the audience.
The film’s other title character is played by 28-year-old Leo Woodall who plays a park-keeper who becomes Bridget’s love interest.
And there were also reports that the Hollywood actress had been seen filming school trip scenes in Keswick with a group of children while dressed in camping gear with a sun hat and wax jacket and denim dungarees.
Of course Renée Zellweger is no stranger to the Lake District having starred in the 2006 film Miss Potter which was based on the life of children’s author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. The film premiered at the Royalty Cinema in Bowness.
