IF you are among the many people who have been waiting for the latest episode in the Bridget Jones saga to reach your village hall, good news! This is the month when the hapless heroine, once again played by Renee Zellweger, tops the Moviola list, with screenings at Hawkchurch, Membury (Devon), Bourton, South Petherton (David Hall), Beaminster (Public Rooms), Bransgore, Winterslow, Norton St Philip and West Camel.
Helen Fielding’s brilliant creation has progressed from her endearing, relatable not-quite-young woman looking for love, through marriage, motherhood and widowhood. Now, (in what was once known as early middle age!) she is back on the dating scene and ready for a new relationship. But will it be the attractive younger man (played by Leo Woodall) or her young son’s handsome teacher (Chiwetel Ejifor). Her old lover and friend Daniel (Hugh Grant) is still around.
Inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (so perhaps entirely fitting that its fourth iteration is proving a hit in the year of Austen’s 250th anniversary) and credited as the first in what became known as the chick-lit genre, Bridget Jones has endured and matured over nearly 30 years, a remarkable picture of the ups and downs of life for a 21st century woman.
For more information about the film and timings of the screenings visit www.moviola.org and for dates and venues, see the Arts Diary.
Another popular June film is the brilliant Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, on screen at Kingsbury Episcopi, Shrewton, Hanging Langford, Motcombe, Hardington Mandeville, Cattistock and Castle Cary (Caryford hall.
Whether you are a lifelong Dylan fan (and old enough to remember the thrill and inspiration of his songs first time around) or have come to the brilliant Nobel laureate more recently, this is a film that needs to be seen, as a pretty unflinching portrait of a very complicated man. Timothee Chalamet is simply astonishing – although often depicted by the media as a gorgeous clothes horse, he is an actor of incredible versatility (Willy Wonka, Dune, Call Me By Your Name). In A Complete Unknown he not only looks and talks and moves like the edgy, insecure but often arrogant young Bob Dylan, he also sings the songs. And he sings them just like Dylan. It is a powerhouse performance. If you were also a Joan Baez fan (and yes, we both were), you may feel that Joanie (Monica Barbaro) is not shown in the best light, with more significance put on Dylan’s other major relationship at that time, with the late Suze Rutolo (Sylvie Russo in this film, played by Elle Fanning).
The other regional June screenings from Moviola are:
Conclave at Pewsey (Bouverie Hall);
A Real Pain at Fawley, Nether Wallop, Shepton Montague and South Petherton (David Hall);
Juror No 2 at Codford St Peter (Woolstore Theatre), Highcliv=ffe (community centre), Wilmington (Devon – Community Cinema), Chard (Guildhall), Halstock and Mere (Wiltshire);
Maria at Yetminster (Jubilee Hall) and Bishopstone (near Salisbury);
Wicked at Edington (Somerset); and
All We Imagine As Light at Charlton Marshall.