Maxance Vincent
One of the most visually stunning motion pictures released this year so far is Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, the fourth installment in the highly popular adaptations of Helen Fielding‘s books of the same name.
While the Michael Morris-directed movie did not get a theatrical release in North America, Mad About the Boy still has a staggering visual language that tells this chapter of Bridget Jones’ story in a different light than the previous three installments. The camerawork is more handheld and always follows the protagonist at her most intimate and vulnerable, as she decides it’s finally time to live after the tragic passing of her husband, Mark Darcy.
Awards Radar had a chance to speak to cinematographer Suzie Lavelle on bringing this story to life, from her collaboration with Michael Morris to the process that went into shooting some of the most powerful sequences of the entire movie, notably key visual moments to represent Mark Darcy’s presence, and the devastating balloon scene.
You can read the full conversation below, which has been edited for length and clarity:
I love this movie. I really love this movie. I’ve said this to the director as well, I’m not that big of a fan of the Bridget Jones movies. I’ve seen them, like them, but I don’t necessarily think about them. However, ever since I saw this film when it came out in February, I’ve been thinking about it since then, and part of the reason why I was really taken aback by it was how aesthetically different it was from previous Bridget Jones films. Was that always the intent to visually set it apart from the rest of the franchise, knowing that it was going to tackle more darker themes and see the character at her most vulnerable as she learns to live again?
Yes. When I came to the project, Michael Morris, the director, had spoken to me about how he had seen this film as a comedy of grief. He wanted a grounded London and a realism in the work that felt close to Bridget. He always wanted the camera to be with her, the world to be believable, and the film to be a tender portrait of characters and a love letter to all the Bridget films.
How I came on the project was that I had seen Michael’s previous film, To Leslie, and I had gone, “God, I wonder who directed that.” I then said to my agent,” I really love that film,” and a few weeks later, I was coming back on a plane from Severance, my agent rang and said, “You won’t believe this, but that film you were telling me about, the director is doing Bridget Jones, and they’ve asked to meet. I couldn’t believe it. That was a mad coincidence!
As we got into it, he got me to watch a couple of films. One was Truly, Madly, Deeply, and the other was About Time. They are both British, and London is quite grounded in those films. They’re handheld and close. There’s no filter. It’s a London that we know and love. Putting Bridget in London was really important, and the way she sees the world is so beautiful and full of life.
Was it important to focus on Bridget’s perspective and her emotional journey, especially during some of the more pivotal moments of the film, for the audience to really be in proximity with her?
Absolutely. And that’s why Michael really wanted to approach it handheld and close. We let Bridget do her thing, and I’m just there as an observer. We don’t feel the camera, and we don’t emote too heavily with the camera. We are sitting on her shoulder.
That’s what was interesting to me when I was watching the movie. I was like, “Hh, there’s a lot of handheld camera work in this.” And it’s very different from the other Bridget films, especially as we get to some of the more profoundly emotional scenes of the film. We feel very close to her. Closer than ever before.
Something we spoke about from the very beginning as well was putting the audience right in the center of her life. When the audience catches up to what she has been up to, they think she’s moved on, but she hasn’t. She’s stagnant, and we want to be with her on that journey, so we go straight in at an emotional level. That was a big thing for this film to do.
Before I watched the movie, I knew that Mark Darcy had died, but Colin Firth would be in it anyway, so I wondered how he would be used, knowing that the character had died. There’s a scene in the movie at the very beginning, where Bridget tucks her children to bed, and Mark is in the background, but completely out of focus. It creates this visceral sensation because instead of just seeing him as a ghost, we feel his presence through Bridget’s emotions. That was the goal, right?
Absolutely, and that idea that he’s always with her, and that you don’t truly get over grief. It’s always present. There is no cure for grief, and it’s always really important that this scene shows this. Truly, Madly, Deeply had a similar scene where her husband’s ghost comes and joins her, and it’s very subtle, because you’re in that internal moment with her. For Bridget, every night, he’s there putting the kids to bed with her. When she decides to move on and is with Mr. Walliker in the last act of the film, it’s the first time he’s not there in the bedroom, and the shot is repeated without him.
This is a very funny movie, at times, but it also deals with many complex emotions. How do you balance that out in the cinematography and ensure that each scene, whether funny or sad, maintains a sense of visual continuity and serves the story and the characters at hand?
The trick with that was to laugh with her and try to keep the photography honest. Even if we were framing wider to allow a physical comedy beat, our main challenge was ensuring that it felt internal. A lot of it is based on feeling. When you block a scene, you have a plan of how you’re going to shoot it, but have to be open to changing that, and especially the moments with her and Hugh Grant at the beginning as well. You want to give them space to play, and have the camera respond to what they are doing.
My favorite scene in the movie is the balloon scene where Bridget and her children celebrate Mark’s birthday by releasing balloons into the air. It’s a very moving scene because we feel all the emotions that Bridget feels. She’s holding on to that balloon and being afraid of counting to three, as if she is holding Mark. There’s an amazing shot of Renée’s face lingering as her emotions shift when she realizes that she will have to count to three and release that balloon. That whole sequence completely broke me when I first saw it. Can you talk about the process of shooting it?
There was also a build-up to that scene as well, and we knew that when Bridget goes upstairs the night before and looks at all the news reports, it is a heavy scene emotionally. That whole section feels like part of her journey, as she says, “Okay, I’m ready to move on. I thought I moved on before, but now I’m ready.”
On the first day of prep, Michael showed me a Jeff Wall photograph of a red balloon floating away. That is what we wanted to do with it very early on. And then it was just a matter of logistically tackling it within our schedule and how we’re going to make the balloons fly, and feeling the air as they get released.
How important is it to use, at very pivotal moments, close-ups of either Bridget’s hand holding the balloon and then her face in proximity with the character?
So important. I think you’ve really earned that moment by then, in terms of proximity. Renée does so much with her face that it’s all there, as we are close and able to respond with a free camera. Renée’s emotion will guide us through that scene. That whole section is the closest we go in the movie, whether it’s the night before, when she’s on the computer, or at the balloon moment.
How was it like working with Renée, not just on this scene, but on the whole movie in modulating Bridget’s journey through the visuals?
She is amazing. From the get-go, she is Bridget. I was lucky to have her in for camera tests, and we had the whole crew there a day before we started shooting. It was so playful to see her figuring out how she was going back to Bridget in those camera tests. We did many silly things around the studio, but we then went outside, and it was such an excellent guide for me, in terms of knowing how to shoot her. Her comedy performance is right down to her toes, so it was great for me to have the space to respond to her. She’s amazing and a total joy, and she brightens everyone’s day.
Were there any specific challenges that arose in shooting this film?
There were many challenges, partly because of being in Central London. The main thing was making sure we were honoring Bridget’s story the right way. Within our style, there were literal challenges of trying to shoot at night in London in the summer, where, in most locations, you’ve got to be out by 11, so you’re only getting a few hours. We had to be organized about how we shoot those.
I noticed there’s a lot of nature in this movie, not just the balloon scene where they go to the park, but also the camping trip, and even scenes at the end during the winter. Does shooting in all of these different environments require unique considerations for you to capture all of these seasons?
Yeah, very much so. Bridget looks at everything optimistically. There’s no cynicism in her. The joy of nature fits in the frame without having to cut to it and be with her feelings about it. There are challenges of trying to do snow in July in London, and you might need the location five minutes later not to be snowy. It was a big thing, but I loved that it’s part of the healing process of grief. The whole world is there waiting for us. Let’s go out and enjoy it.
Of course, the scene at the end where Bridget’s son sings “I’ll Do Anything for You” is a really moving sequence, because it also allows Bridget permission to move on from her grief. Can you talk about how that scene was shot?
That was so sweet. We initially had a different location for it, which was a bit colder and bigger. We thought that Billy’s brave step to singing was interesting. It was a big deal for him, as he had been going through a lot. However, when we discovered the location where we shot the scene, it felt magical. It was really fun to figure out how to use a bit of magic while also feeling grounded. I think we had two days for that whole section, including the exteriors. Casper Knof, the actor playing Billy, was amazing because he had to sing it many times. It was really wonderful. The scene straight after that, the last New Year’s Eve party in the house, for me, was everything. We were bringing back everyone we knew in Bridget’s world, and felt like it was a time to enjoy these wonderful characters and be close with them for the last time.
Is there a scene or shot that you worked on in this movie that you would say you’re the proudest of?
For me, it’s the pre-title at the beginning. I really like how we got through the story. We know we’re going into a comedy, but there’s a lot of serious stuff to cover quickly. I also loved the last scene of everyone at the party being together, and the joy of that sequence.
When you reflect on working on this project, what would you say was the most rewarding aspect for you as a cinematographer in bringing this chapter of Bridget Jones’s story to life?
I felt very honored to be shooting it with that cast. In the pre-title, there’s a continuous shot where everybody says things about grief, “You need to move on. You need to have a partner. Don’t wallow in it.” We did these complicated in-camera one-takes where she’s put the kids to bed, gone downstairs, and then the camera starts moving. All of the characters from her life pop up in her living room. We did that practically and completely in camera. On the day, we had actors lying under the table and popping up, climbing over people. We had to devise a way to get people in that shot. That was really fun to execute. I’m really proud of that because we had to let the audience feel the filmmaking. It was also excellent working with an actor like Renée because if you need to get from A to B, she could almost feel that, which helped me get there. It was a fantastic experience from beginning to end.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is now available to stream on Peacock.
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