Miss Potter (Renée Zellweger)

(Amazon UK link)

We were running a bit late yesterday evening, and wanted to watch something fairly short. ‘Miss Potter’ at just 87 minutes seemed to fill the bill. We saw it in 2014, but my husband had totally forgotten it, and I had only the vaguest recollection of a few scenes.

It’s a dramatisation of the story of Beatrix Potter, one of the best-selling children’s writers of all time. She’s best known, probably, for ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’, but she wrote a large number of other books, which she illustrated beautifully. They are still published, over a hundred years later, often in the original style of a small, square hardback which is easy for young children to hold. 

While there are forays into Beatrix’s childhood, as she thinks of odd moments or situations, the main story begins in 1902 when she is in a publisher’s office, submitting the text and drawings for ‘Peter Rabbit’. One of the rather strait-laced publishers is about to say, ‘Thanks, but no thanks’, but his brother says he thinks that they can take it on. Beatrix (brilliantly portrayed by Renée Zellweger) is delighted. But after she has left we learn that this is to be the first project for their younger brother Norman (Ewan McGregor). They don’t expect it to sell more than about ten copies, so Norman is being fobbed off with what they think is cute and twee, but not commercially viable.

Norman meets Beatrix, and the two become friends as he introduces her to all the different aspects of producing a book. He discusses everything with her, and even takes her into the printing room to inspect the results. When the book is published, it rapidly becomes popular and sells a large number. Beatrix thinks their friendship must now end, as she has achieved her dream. But Norman persuades her to write out her other stories, to make more books. 

Norman’s sister Millie (Emily Watson) befriends Beatrix; both are single, and determined to remain that way. At least, they are until Beatrix realises that Norman is falling in love with her, and she starts to feel something for him, too. Her parents are horrified; they have moved into wealthy upper-middle class society despite having roots in the trade world, and they look down on someone who works for his living.

So there’s a romance going on alongside the remarkable success of the delightful little books, which, in the era, are startlingly different from any other children’s books. And it’s all beautifully done, in a way that kept us fully engrossed throughout. There is a bit of humour here and there - Beatrix is quite whimsical, and talks to her paintings as if they were her friends; there are some animations as she looks at them, which I liked very much. The expressions on the face of her constant chaperone are amusing too, at times, as are the caricatures she remembers of the ‘suitors’ whom her mother tried to introduce her to. 

There’s also some tragedy, hinted at in the musical change as Beatrix goes off on holiday with her parents. It’s very well done, and quite moving. 

Some of the scenery is stunning, and the pace is exactly right. Inevitably there are liberties taken with the story, but it seems to be pretty close to the reality of Beatrix Potter’s life. It’s interesting on so many levels: the obvious one is of seeing how her books came to be published. Knowing something about her life is also intriguing; she was a young woman rather ahead of her time, determined not to fall into a typical domestic role. And it’s the story of emancipation, of escaping from traditional parents, particularly her somewhat overbearing mother. For a young Victorian woman, this must have been quite a triumph.  Yet Beatrix comes across as quite a shy person, good at making friends, but unwilling to be in the spotlight. 

The rating is PG but it could easily have been U.  I didn’t notice any violence or bad language, and the most ‘intimate’ scene is that of a deep kiss. 

Highly recommended. 

Our DVD comes with a 'making of' documentary extra, but it doesn't really add very much. However it was a slightly surprising reminder that Renée Zellweger is American, and Ewan McGregor Scottish. They both spoke 1900s British English flawlessly, as far as I could tell, in the film. 

Review copyright 2025 Sue's DVD Reviews

One True Thing (Meryl Streep)

(Amazon UK link)

We had no idea what to expect when we decided to watch ‘One True Thing’. I had bought it used from a church sale because Meryl Streep was listed as one of the main characters and she’s always excellent value. But we had never heard of the film - it was made in 1998, apparently.

Ellen (Renée Zellweger) is in fact the first person we meet; she’s being interviewed, probably by a policeman or other official, and it’s clear that she realises she could be in trouble. Her mother has died, after a long illness, and it appears that there were suspicious circumstances. But we only get hints of what happened at the start. The story immediately flashes back to a surprise party given for her father George (William Hurt).

Kate (Meryl Streep) is an outgoing, organised kind of person and we meet her dressed as ‘Dorothy’ from ‘Wizard of Oz’, since the party is a fancy dress one. Ellen and the friend she’s travelled with are not dressed up; it’s immediately clear that she’s a very different personality from her mother. She’s career-minded and intelligent, and she’s also an aspiring writer who works in a news agency.

When George arrives home, he’s quite surprised; I wondered if he was going to object to the party, but it’s clear that he adores his wife even though he does very little around the house. He’s an academic who has published a book, and Ellen clearly wants his approval, seeing her mother as rather irritating and not particularly intelligent.

The party sets the scene skilfully for the different relationships within the family. Ellen has a very nice brother (Tom Everett Scott) who won’t admit to their father that he has failed an exam. He’s more like their mother in personality, but gets along well with his sister. And George is really not a good father, although his relationship with his wife seems to be a good one…

The bulk of the film takes place a while later when it’s clear that Kate has a terminal illness, and needs full-time care. George is not willing to take a sabbatical from his work, so Ellen is guilt-tripped into taking a break from her own career, despite being on the verge of a very good story. As Ellen spends more time with her mother, they finally start to acknowledge each other’s strengths, and Ellen begins to understand her a bit better…

It was quite a long film by today’s standards (over two hours) but right from the start we were mesmerised. Renée Zellweger is excellent as Ellen, and William Hurt is very good as the dislikable George. But - as is usually the case - it’s Meryl Streep who steals the show, in almost every respect. She must have been about fifty when this film was made, but could have passed for not much more than forty at the start. Her descent into serious illness, making her look twice that age by the end, is brilliantly done. I’m sure a lot of the credit must go to her make-up artiste, but as a sick woman she is entirely believable, brilliant throughout.

It’s a moving story; there are a few light-hearted moments to lift the mood a little, but although the party at the start is a little over-the-top, it manages to be believable, as does Kate despite the garish costume and extraverted cheerfulness even in the face of her somewhat condescending daughter.

It’s the kind of story that will stay with us, something we might watch again in another eight or nine years. It’s rated 15 (R in the United States!) despite no nudity, nothing explicit and no violence. Admittedly the subject matter is unsuitable for younger children, and there’s some bad language (though not excessive). The descent into agonising illness is quite disturbing too. But I don’t think there’s anything unsuitable for younger teens with reasonable maturity, and would have expected it to be rated 12 or PG-13 (as it is in some other countries).

Definitely recommended, if you like a drama with sensitive and potentially disturbing subject matter. The pace is excellent, the people so believable that we were totally caught up in the storyline. And it's quite thought-provoking too. The ending is bittersweet but overall positive, if a tad shocking.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews

Bridget Jones's Diary (Renée Zellweger)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s just over nine years since we watched ‘Bridget Jones’ Diary’, a film which is sometimes considered a classic. It’s based on a book of the same name by Helen Fielding which I read a year or so after first watching the film, and I wasn’t very impressed with it. However I had entirely forgotten the storyline and most of the characters, so we decided it was time to see it again.

What I had remembered - and which is fairly obvious anyway - is that this story has several nods to Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’. The most obvious one is that early in the book Bridget (Renee Zellweger) meets a handsome but rather aloof young man called Mark Darcy. He’s played by Colin Firth, which of course adds to the connection for those who have seen the BBC adaptation of ‘Pride and Prejudice’.

However the story is quite different. Bridget is not at all like Lizzie Bennett. She’s a heavy smoker and drinker, and eats junk food. She wants to lose weight even though she isn’t particularly overweight, but she could certainly do with developing a healthier lifestyle. And she admits to a crush on her boss Daniel (Hugh Grant) but is well aware that he’s a womaniser and something of a jerk.

The book was all written in diary form, but that isn’t possible in a film. So there are only a few scenes involving the diary, though they include an important one near the end. Most of the film is action-based, albeit rather trite and with a lot more bad language than I’m comfortable with. Bridget has a group of friends who are caricatured and decidedly bizarre, and she wears clothes that attract men but don’t particularly suit her.

Indeed most of the minor characters in the film are exaggerated or caricatured, other than, perhaps, Bridget’s long-suffering father (Jim Broadbent). Her mother (Gemma Jones) isn’t quite as ghastly as Austen’s Mrs Bennett, but is still decidedly weird and materialistic.

The boss Daniel, clearly meant to represent the handsome but unreliable Mr Wickham of Austen’s novel, is quite charming. Hugh Grant was 40 when this film was made (in 2001) but could easily pass for thirty. Unlike his regular roles as a likeable but uncertain gentleman, he manages the smooth, seducing charmer extremely well.

Colin Firth is less believable at first; Bridget doesn’t like the way he dresses, but he’s outspoken and rather rude, too - and while he does become nicer during the story, there was never any real chemistry between him and Bridget, and their inevitable eventual attraction doesn’t feel entirely real.

All of which sounds a bit negative, but overall it’s an enjoyable film, with some humour, and nothing over-taxing for an evening’s light viewing. It’s rated 15, (R in the USA) probably due to the excessive use of ‘strong’ language, mainly by one character, and the amount of smoking. There are bedroom scenes but only one brief one is explicit, and in most cases there’s no nudity. There are a lot of innuendoes there, and plenty of overt sexual discussion. There’s a scene of violence towards the end, too, but it’s not particularly gory.

Recommended for older teens and adults if you don’t mind the crudeness and the lightweight nature of the story, and are looking for something light and (in places) amusing.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews

Miss Potter (Renée Zellweger)

(Amazon UK link)

I forget who recommended this movie to me. But recently I’ve found that I very much appreciate film versions of biographies, sometimes (though it pains me to admit it) more so than the print versions. ‘Miss Potter’ was given to me as a gift some months ago, and we decided to watch it last night.

I have known of Beatrix Potter since my early childhood, of course. The delightful tales of Peter Rabbit, Jeremy Fisher, Squirrel Nutkin and so many more are part of my heritage and culture. I had several of the books as a child, and read them to my own children years later. The pictures are beautifully drawn by the author, and the stories quirky and light. Yet they don't have the condescending controlled vocabulary that hampers so many children’s books these days.

Nevertheless, I knew almost nothing about the author. I had not thought at all about the problems she would have faced as a female author in Victorian times, writing for what was not a well-developed market. These difficulties were clearly presented in the movie. We see Beatrix Potter as a young and highly intelligent woman who lives much of her life in a fantasy world with her animals and stories. She cares nothing for fashion, nor for the upper-class young men presented to her. Instead she is determined to earn her living: to enter what was a man’s world, and get her stories published.

Fortunately for her - and for millions of children subsequently - one publisher decided to accept her first book, 'Peter Rabbit'. He assumed that it would probably be a flop but had his own reasons for going ahead. The young man Norman (Ewan McGregor) who worked with Beatrix was, however, as passionate about the book as she was. He treated her as an intelligent equal rather than a fluffy female, and together they produced the books that were to become so famous around the world.

Unsurprisingly there’s a gentle - and sad - love affair; there’s also a lifelong friendship. Underpinning it all is the story of Beatrix’s eventual emancipation from her rather overbearing and controlling mother (Barbara Flynn). There are some lovely cameos of family life that provide, if not humour, at least a lighter side to the story.

Renée Zellweger plays a believable Miss Potter, with a more than passable upper-middle class English accent. She is portrayed as uncertain and awkward in so many ways, yet supremely gifted in her art and storytelling. The other characters matter less, yet most the cast feel real, Overall we were captivated by this true story.

This DVD is rated PG which seems about right to me. There’s nothing shocking, no violence or nudity, and just one instance of relatively mild language. However some of the subject matter could be a bit disturbing to a sensitive child - and it’s unlikely to be of interest to anyone under the age of about eight or nine.

There’s a ‘Making of...’ documentary as an extra on the DVD, but we found it a bit tedious. It didn’t add anything much to the story.

Review copyright 2014 Sue's DVD Reviews

Bridget Jones's Diary (Renée Zellweger)

(Amazon UK link)

Bridget Jones's Diary is yet another well-known film which we had heard of many times, but which neither of us had seen. We remedied that this week.

It's based on a novel, which I also haven’t read, and which apparently takes its storyline loosely from ‘Pride and Prejudice’. There’s a nice irony in that Colin Firth, who played Mr Darcy in the BBC series of Jane Austen’s classic, plays Mark Darcy in this film - Bridget's mother wants her to marry him, but when she first meets him he is wearing an amazingly frumpish outfit and does not seem appealing at all.

The story is about a year in Bridget's life, beginning with her New Year resolutions; these include the determination to lose weight, drink less, smoke less, and stop fantasising about her boss, Daniel Cleaver. Hugh Grant, who stars as Daniel, and something of an office Casanova, is actually much more appealing than Colin Firth in this film. So it's not surprising that Bridget likes him, particularly when he begins a little flirtation with her.

I didn't feel that Bridget, bears much relation to any of the Bennet girls in 'Pride and Prejudice', although I suppose she is meant to have a modern resemblance to Elisabeth. However, her mother, played in an over-the-top way by Gemma Jones, is quite as ghastly as Mrs Bennet though not as amusingly so.

I thought the film was nicely done, and there are certainly some humorous moments but it’s not the hilarious comedy some reviewers suggest. Hugh Grant and Colin Firth are both excellent, and make it worth watching; Renée Zellweger is very believable as Bridget, surprisingly likeable despite being so caught up in material things and obsessive about her weight.

Unfortunately, I found the smoking and excessive bad language very off-putting - and rather unnecessary. It means that the UK rating is 15, the US rating R, although the story itself probably have been rated 12/PG-13 if it had been less crude.

Worth watching for a light evening in, but not one that will stick around in my mind for very long.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews