Writer-director Maggie Gyllenhall's The Bride! is an inventive, kinetic and expressionistic re-imagining of the Frankenstein saga, focusing on the story of the Bride of Frankenstein. The bride of the monster was previously immortalized in the classic 1935 film helmed by James Whale. Gyllenhall's dazzling, creative and imaginative take on Mary Shelley's tale features an amazing performance by Jessie Buckley, who portrays both Shelley and The Bride, while Christian Bale plays the Frankenstein Monster, and Annette Bening plays a brilliant doctor named Cornelia Euphronius.
The Bride! takes place in 1936 Chicago, where we meet Ida, a sort of gangster's moll who is possessed by the spirit of Mary Shelley, and begins blurting out the secrets of a gang boss named Lupino. Ida is killed while being pursued by Lupino's henchmen. Meanwhile, Frankenstein's Monster visits Dr. Cornelia Euphronius, who is experimenting with reanimating dead flesh. He begs her to create a companion for him. At first, she's reluctant, but ultimately she agrees, and it turns out the corpse they choose to work with is Ida's. The experiment is a success, but the revived Ida has no memory of her previous life.
That's the starting point for a wildly over the top tale that's partly a Bonnie and Clyde lovers on the run tale, mixed in with a female empowerment story, a classic 1930s style monster movie, and a little bit of an old fashioned gangster saga thrown in for good measure. Oh, and it's a moving love story as well! Guillermo Del Toro's fabulous 2025 film Frankenstein might be the more mythic "classic rock" version of Mary Shelley's tale, but Maggie Gyllenhall's The Bride! is most definitely it's irreverent punk rock cousin. This is a visually striking film, courtesy of cinematographer Lawrence Sher and production designer Karen Murphy.
Gyllenhall's clever script combines elements of horror, comedy, and drama, with moments of real emotion and pathos, and her direction is nothing short of masterful. The cast is terrific, with Buckley and Bale doing superb work as The Bride and The Monster, while Bening shines as the somewhat mad doctor. The excellent supporting cast includes Penelope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard and Jeannie Berlin. Maggie Gyllenhall and her talented cast and crew took some really big creative swings on this project, and I think they succeeded in producing a creative, unique, and visionary film experience. If you're looking for something truly different on your movie menu, The Bride! just might fit the bill.
