As I write this, I’m still not quite sure what to make of The Bride!
Overall, it’s pretty abrasive, with dialogue that often wavers between juvenile and pretentious (to say nothing of pretentiously juvenile). The film’s aesthetic and tone frequently seem like pandering attempts to appeal to the fringe crowd, but created by folks who’ve clearly drawn inspiration from better movies aimed at the same audience. Here, it generally comes off as insincere and superficial.
By the title character’s third or fourth smirking, expletive-loaded, literature-quoting tirade, I found myself going, Yeah, yeah, I get it…this ain’t my granddaddy’s Bride of Frankenstein.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t want it to be, and the basic story of The Bride! is actually pretty neat. You just have to slog through a lot of showboating to appreciate it. Set in 1936, Jessie Buckley plays both the ghost of Frankenstein author Mary Shelley, and a depressed escort named “Ida.” Shelley narrates the set-up: following her most famous novel, she died before writing the story she really wanted to tell. In limbo for centuries, she possesses Ida, who’s then killed after running afoul of a mob boss named Lupino. Shortly afterwards, she’s brought back from the dead by Dr. Euphronious (Annette Benning) as a mate for the late Dr. Frankenstein’s creation, “Frank” (Christian Bale), who’s dying of loneliness.
The undead soon-to-be lovers end up on the run after Frank savagely kills a couple of thugs attempting to rape Ida. While Isa has no memory of her previous life, Mary is apparently capable of channeling the angry souls of other women wronged or betrayed by men, including those killed by Lupino. This turns the pair into Bonnie & Clyde-like folk heroes by similarly-marginalized women everywhere, who adapt Ida’s monstrous appearance to inflict payback of their own. Meanwhile, detective Jake Wiles (Peter Sarsgaard) and his secretary, Myrna Malloy (Penelope Cruz) lead the nationwide manhunt against them, though tellingly, Myrna does all the actual detective work without credit…at least until a key moment in the story when Wiles’ connection to Ida is revealed. Lupino himself also orders his guys to find Isa and put her down for good.
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| Frank and Ida forget where they parked. |
After a lumbering, obnoxious first act that might prompt some to shut it off, once it settles into the story, The Bride! ends up being fairly engaging, despite frequent detours into moments calculated to solicit WTF? reactions (good or bad). The two protagonists eventually grow somewhat endearing as more is revealed about them, and are well realized by Buckley and Bale (along with some impressive make-up design). At the very least, there reaches a point when we feel compelled to see how things turn out for these two.
So I guess I now do know what to make of The Bride! Worthy themes notwithstanding, the film is never as bold as it obviously aspires to be - visually or narratively - and it’s definitely too long and repetitive for its own good. However, there’s enough earnestness and creativity on display that it would be a shame to dismiss the movie entirely.
EXTRA KIBBLES
FEATURETTES - Stitching Together THE BRIDE! is your standard-issue promotional piece featuring interviews with director Maggie Gyllenhaal and most of the primary cast; Designing the Look covers the creative make-up design; The Muse and the Reimagined Monster focuses on creating the titular character; The Bride Party is about the main cast.
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