By Mahnoosh Arsalan
Staff Writer
The last year in film has been popular for book-to-screen adaptations, and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” is no exception. The acclaimed actress and director has released her third film telling the story of the Bride of Frankenstein, inspired by “Frankenstein” by author Mary Shelley.
Gyllenhaal puts a twist on the beloved story. The audience follows Ida and Frankenstein as they run around 1930s America deepening their relationship, committing crimes and finding out truths within themselves. The story is violent and relevant, especially when portraying society's brutality against women.
Jessie Buckley portrays three characters in this film: Ida, Mary Shelley and the Bride. Buckley’s performances were outstanding, as per usual, and she excelled in these crazy, maniacal roles.
Christian Bale plays Frankenstein, the famous creature who named himself after his creator, Dr. Frankenstein. He enlists the help of Dr. Euphronius, played by Annette Bening, to curate a bride for him in hopes to fix his loneliness. Bale’s performance was remarkable. His ability to portray another soft-hearted variant of the creature was very fun to watch. Bening did an amazing job as well, really encompassing the mad scientist stereotype.
Despite the excellent performances, the entire story and its execution were confusing and disappointing. A lot of the film felt unnecessary and surface level, as though the creators of the film were trying really hard to hit the audience deep.
The movie dives into Shelley’s yearn for revenge, presenting her beyond the grave and possessing Ida’s soul to work on her unfinished business in telling the story of the Bride. While it is understandable that Gyllenhaal wanted to capture the free-spirited, angry and just woman behind the story, it made the film feel a little ridiculous. If a filmmaker wanted to create a piece highlighting the greatness of Shelley, they wouldn’t make it like this.
Additionally, if Gyllenhaal truly wanted to pay homage to Shelley, the film wouldn’t take half the turns it did. “The Bride!” felt more like a Bonnie and Clyde or Joker and Harley Quinn story rather than a meaningful anecdote on a woman taking power back from the abusive systems around her.
Other than the film being an unsuccessful tribute to the iconic piece of literature, it didn’t send a powerful message. The first half of the movie allowed the audience to expect one overarching message, then the other half of the film switched that message up and left more chaos.
The line between women’s liberation without man and falling in love became blurry, ultimately causing even more confusion. It was hard for this film to keep up with its own plot when there were random, unnecessary scenes being thrown in throughout the movie.
Furthermore, the movie also explores the FBI hunt for Ida and Frankenstein, specifically focusing on two detectives: Detective Wiles and Detective/Assistant Malloy. Neither character held interest nor promise as they were given very little background or character in general. It was evident in the film that Wiles held some importance to Ida, however it was hardly explained and added another confusing layer to the film.
With everything said, the film had great cinematography, visuals and performances. Those aspects alone helped the film go along. Gyllenhaal is an extremely talented figure in Hollywood. It would be great to see her direct something more meaningful and sharp in the future. Along with Buckley and Bale, two powerhouse actors, their performances should continue to be praised in their past and future works.
