The Gist
Frankenstein finds himself feeling alone so he asks a Doctor to make him a Bride – the results are far from what anyone expected.
The Review
Here is a little bit of a cinematic receipe. Take a little bit of Gothic literature and then blend in some musical and dance sequences that would make Baz Luhrmann extremely proud, Then add a Bonnie & Clyde storyline and for good measure introduce one of the world’s most talented actresses, Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) into the mix. What do you get?
You get director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s (The Lost Daughter) brand new film The Bride! – which is pretty much a re-telling of the 1935 film Bride Of Frankenstein with her own slant on it.
The concept of a bride for Frankenstein’s monster is not a new one. Even the 1935 film didn’t create it. Author Mary Shelley actually briefly mentioned the character in her original Frankenstein novel,. It was a brief idea mentioned by the monster himself but quickly squashed by Dr. Frankenstein himself. Just as director James Whale did in the 30s Maggie Gyllenhaal takes that original concept and lets her mind run wild. And that is something that she does magically well.
Gyllenhaal’s story begins with the monster himself, now known as Frank (Christian Bale – Batman Begins), finding himself alive in the 1930s after over a century of being ‘alive.’ Overcome with loneliness he tracks down a doctor in America, named Dr Euphronius (Annette Bening – American Beauty), who has made a name for herself for re-animating animals. He tells her his woes and after some convincing she agrees to re-animate a ‘bride’ for him in return for being allowed to study his body.
They soon find the perfect body for the procedure. It is that of Ida (Jessie Buckley), a woman who was killed after making allegations against a mobster during an outburst in a crowded restaurant.
After her re-animation Ida has no memory of her past and is lied to by Frank who tells her that they were previously engaged. To celebrate her recovery from her ‘accident’ they head out to a nightclub where the two of them are hassled by two men. In a fit of rage Frank kills them both and it soon becomes public knowledge that two monsters are on the loose.
As they begin a journey across America, following in the footsteps of Frank’s favourite actor Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler) they are pursued by two Detectives. One is Jake Wiles (Peter Sarsgaard – September 5) who has a connection to Ida’s murder while the other is Myrna Mallow (Penelope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona) who due to being female has to introduce herself as his assistant.
To describe The Bride! is actually quite difficult. As I mentioned before it is part Bonnie & Clyde crime story, part musical and dance (which are scenes that Christian Bale, Jessie Buckley and Jake Gyllenhaal seem to lap up but on the other hand it is an ode to 1930s cinema. There are nods to many classic films throughout the film while Gyllenhaal’s screenplay places the monster into the 1930s exceptionally well. Some how taking him out of 1800s Europe and placing him amongst Rat Pack parties and jazz music works exceptionally well. Even a scene with the ‘monsters’ being chased by men with torches and pitchforks doesn’t seem out of place in the 1930s setting.
Gyllenhaal places her creativity throughout the film. While the idea of using Mary Shelley as a character who frames the story is not new (it was also in the 1935 version) Gyllenhaal lets Buckley run with the idea to the extreme of where at times Ida and Shelley almost seem like the same character. Likewise that creativity re-surfaces when she lets some very modern ideas seep into the film.
As Ida stands up for herself and the prostitutes that have been killed by the mobster the revolution that starts is very reminiscent of both the feminism and #MeToo movements which become picturesque centrepieces as the film goes on. The cinematography of these scenes is so powerful that it really stays with you.
Even the topic of depression and loneliness in men is explored thoroughly and to his credit Christian Bale’s performance is one of the reasons why it works so well on the screen. Bale plays pained and tortured exceptionally well and this is one of the best performances that we have ever seen him deliver.
Likewise, Jessie Buckley’s performance here is remarkable. I thought her work on Hamnet was the best of her career but she manages to even eclipse that here. It is a shame this film didn’t come out during the Awards season because she would have found herself being nominated for The Bride! as well.
The Verdict
The Bride! is an absolute masterpiece. At times it feels chaotic but that just makes it a beautiful mess that you want to watch over and over. Bale and Buckley are sensational while Maggie Gyllenhaal has delivered the most Tim Burtonesque film that Burton himself has not directed. This is something magical and special about this film and every lover of serious cinema needs to see it.
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