Like ‘Bridgerton’? Wait till you catch ‘Mr. Malcolm’s List’

By LINDSEY BAHR
AP Film Writer

Years before “Bridgerton” and the Regency-era fashion moment it helped inspire, director Emma Holly Jones was dreaming of an early 19th century romantic comedy with a diverse cast. The result, “Mr. Malcolm’s List,” a lively Jane Austen inspired romp about a high society marriage mart and a woman seeking to get revenge on the picky suitor who rejected her, debuts Friday in U.S. theaters. The film starring Frieda Pinto and Zawe Ashton as friends conspiring to get back at Mr. Malcolm features an up-and-coming British actor named Sopé Dìrísù in the title role.