March 10, 2026
FILM: THE BRIDE!
DIRECTED & WRITTEN BY: MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL
STARRING: JESSIE BUCKLEY, CHRISTIAN BALE, ANNETTE BENING
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There’s no question that this version of The Bride of Frankenstein is unlike any other that’s been imagined before. Yet it is clearly informed by a host of other movies that make it a crazy clashing of several ideas, some more developed than others. This is going to confound and even turn off some viewers but contrary to the mixed critical response the film has received so far, it’s still a strange but inviting work, as written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Much of it is distantly removed from the original Frankenstein by Mary Shelley yet it also is steeped in its lore as a movie and movie figures themselves.
We’re first introduced to Mary Shelley, played by Jessie Buckley, in a tight close-up. She makes it clear that there is more that she wanted to say about the story of Frankenstein and his bride. As we are transported to 1930s Chicago (although it’s hard to recognize much as pure Chicago in the setting) Buckley is also playing a character named Ida who is larger than life and a force to be reckoned with amongst all the men in a crowded bar. Because Shelley is her “creator” she possesses her in a way that must be seen to be believed. If you (like me) thought her much lauded performance in Hamlet was a bit over-the-top, this one goes even higher, at least during the film’s first half.
After a fall that kills her (this happens very early in the film so I’m not giving much away) Ida is used as the body to become Frankenstein’s bride. He, the monster, is played by Christian Bale in a more low-key, sensitive, although occasionally hot-tempered performance, who wants sex and a relationship. He consults with a doctor, played by Annette Bening, who seems to know something about how to create a living being out of dead bodies. Once the body is brought to them, the doctor rather quickly gets to work. The scene is brighter than what we’ve known from James Whale’s 1935 The Bride of Frankenstein with a wall of windows which illuminates the doctor’s laboratory. Seeing Bening in this role is a delight. She adds some levity during her interactions with Bale as Frankenstein (whom The Bride calls “Frank” because he’s considered the “son” of the doctor who created him.) For those of us that remember a particular arc on the old Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, the scene, with its scientific gadgetry that does who knows what, recalls Dr. Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) creating a sad but lovable monster named Adam on the show.
Once the Bride is created, Buckley goes full tour de force as the character. When she and Frankenstein are mysteriously able to escape from the lab, she becomes a wild figure dancing in a club that looks like a contemporary rave full of freaks and techno music. (Some might even find her resembling the “creation” in Fritz Lang’s classic Metropolis) Eventually, the two characters go on a run that feels a bit like they are imitating Bonnie & Clyde. Yes, the film moves away from its scientific horror roots and into a world of mobsters and chases.
Sounds pretty wacky, doesn’t it?! As unlikely as it all it there is something earnest and quite entertaining about what Gyllenhaal does with this story. The influence of other movies is front and center. Frankenstein loves to sit in movie theaters watching 1930s musicals. He even imagines himself on screen in a role which he sees featuring Jake Gyllenhaal playing a Fred Astaire/Gene Kelly-type actor/showman. Because the film has some lighter tones which may or may not work for some viewers, he even does a number to the song Puttin’ on the Ritz which, you may recall, Gene Wilder did with his monster in Mel Brooks’s classic parody of the Frankenstein genre, Young Frankenstein. To think that Gyllenhaal went there is pretty astounding, for better or for worse. References to other films and movie stars continue with allusions to Myrna Loy, Marlene Dietrich, and Ginger Rogers. Gyllenhaal also uses the canted camera angles so effective in The Bride of Frankenstein as well as several high angle shots reminiscent of Busby Berkeley musicals. It’s as if the monster fell in love with movies before a bride.
This is a love story between Frank and Ida though. They bond as outsiders and monsters in the real world. There’s something volatile while also tender about their relationship and Buckley and Bale have great chemistry developing it. This is when Buckley’s performance comes back down to earth. What she does is affecting and even a little sweet.
Ultimately though what Gyllenhaal is trying to create here is a feminist take on the Bride character as well as the many other females in the film. Ida is tough and usually in control. The “mad” doctor is a very bright woman. There are two detectives, played by Peter Sarsgaard and Penelope Cruz, who twist movie stereotypes from the era. Cruz’s character is much stronger and more effective in solving crimes associated with Frank and The Bride than Sarsgaard’s character is. This feminist leaning is also clear by the title: this is The Bride! NOT The Bride OF Frankenstein. She has the power to get what she wants and, while still surrounded by men that want to harm her, belongs to no one. Thanks to her stamina and perseverance, she’s a new kind of monster’s bride.
The Bride! isn’t a perfect film, featuring some underdeveloped characters including John Magaro as a figure known as “Clyde” and time ellipses that leave certain logistical movements of the characters unclear. I’m also not sure if it’s even necessary to have Mary Shelley as a character in the film. Her introduction at the outset may have been enough. Still, this is an audacious attempt at telling a new version of this story which will either turn off or be embraced by a new generation of viewers.
The Bride! is now playing in theaters everywhere.
FILM: THE BRIDE!
DIRECTED & WRITTEN BY: MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL
STARRING: JESSIE BUCKLEY, CHRISTIAN BALE, ANNETTE BENING
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There’s no question that this version of The Bride of Frankenstein is unlike any other that’s been imagined before. Yet it is clearly informed by a host of other movies that make it a crazy clashing of several ideas, some more developed than others. This is going to confound and even turn off some viewers but contrary to the mixed critical response the film has received so far, it’s still a strange but inviting work, as written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Much of it is distantly removed from the original Frankenstein by Mary Shelley yet it also is steeped in its lore as a movie and movie figures themselves.
We’re first introduced to Mary Shelley, played by Jessie Buckley, in a tight close-up. She makes it clear that there is more that she wanted to say about the story of Frankenstein and his bride. As we are transported to 1930s Chicago (although it’s hard to recognize much as pure Chicago in the setting) Buckley is also playing a character named Ida who is larger than life and a force to be reckoned with amongst all the men in a crowded bar. Because Shelley is her “creator” she possesses her in a way that must be seen to be believed. If you (like me) thought her much lauded performance in Hamlet was a bit over-the-top, this one goes even higher, at least during the film’s first half.
After a fall that kills her (this happens very early in the film so I’m not giving much away) Ida is used as the body to become Frankenstein’s bride. He, the monster, is played by Christian Bale in a more low-key, sensitive, although occasionally hot-tempered performance, who wants sex and a relationship. He consults with a doctor, played by Annette Bening, who seems to know something about how to create a living being out of dead bodies. Once the body is brought to them, the doctor rather quickly gets to work. The scene is brighter than what we’ve known from James Whale’s 1935 The Bride of Frankenstein with a wall of windows which illuminates the doctor’s laboratory. Seeing Bening in this role is a delight. She adds some levity during her interactions with Bale as Frankenstein (whom The Bride calls “Frank” because he’s considered the “son” of the doctor who created him.) For those of us that remember a particular arc on the old Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, the scene, with its scientific gadgetry that does who knows what, recalls Dr. Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) creating a sad but lovable monster named Adam on the show.
Once the Bride is created, Buckley goes full tour de force as the character. When she and Frankenstein are mysteriously able to escape from the lab, she becomes a wild figure dancing in a club that looks like a contemporary rave full of freaks and techno music. (Some might even find her resembling the “creation” in Fritz Lang’s classic Metropolis) Eventually, the two characters go on a run that feels a bit like they are imitating Bonnie & Clyde. Yes, the film moves away from its scientific horror roots and into a world of mobsters and chases.
Sounds pretty wacky, doesn’t it?! As unlikely as it all it there is something earnest and quite entertaining about what Gyllenhaal does with this story. The influence of other movies is front and center. Frankenstein loves to sit in movie theaters watching 1930s musicals. He even imagines himself on screen in a role which he sees featuring Jake Gyllenhaal playing a Fred Astaire/Gene Kelly-type actor/showman. Because the film has some lighter tones which may or may not work for some viewers, he even does a number to the song Puttin’ on the Ritz which, you may recall, Gene Wilder did with his monster in Mel Brooks’s classic parody of the Frankenstein genre, Young Frankenstein. To think that Gyllenhaal went there is pretty astounding, for better or for worse. References to other films and movie stars continue with allusions to Myrna Loy, Marlene Dietrich, and Ginger Rogers. Gyllenhaal also uses the canted camera angles so effective in The Bride of Frankenstein as well as several high angle shots reminiscent of Busby Berkeley musicals. It’s as if the monster fell in love with movies before a bride.
This is a love story between Frank and Ida though. They bond as outsiders and monsters in the real world. There’s something volatile while also tender about their relationship and Buckley and Bale have great chemistry developing it. This is when Buckley’s performance comes back down to earth. What she does is affecting and even a little sweet.
Ultimately though what Gyllenhaal is trying to create here is a feminist take on the Bride character as well as the many other females in the film. Ida is tough and usually in control. The “mad” doctor is a very bright woman. There are two detectives, played by Peter Sarsgaard and Penelope Cruz, who twist movie stereotypes from the era. Cruz’s character is much stronger and more effective in solving crimes associated with Frank and The Bride than Sarsgaard’s character is. This feminist leaning is also clear by the title: this is The Bride! NOT The Bride OF Frankenstein. She has the power to get what she wants and, while still surrounded by men that want to harm her, belongs to no one. Thanks to her stamina and perseverance, she’s a new kind of monster’s bride.
The Bride! isn’t a perfect film, featuring some underdeveloped characters including John Magaro as a figure known as “Clyde” and time ellipses that leave certain logistical movements of the characters unclear. I’m also not sure if it’s even necessary to have Mary Shelley as a character in the film. Her introduction at the outset may have been enough. Still, this is an audacious attempt at telling a new version of this story which will either turn off or be embraced by a new generation of viewers.
The Bride! is now playing in theaters everywhere.