I want to begin this review by acknowledging that I am fully aware that not everyone will agree with my thoughts on this film. The Bride! is far from perfect, but it is absolutely my kind of movie. I love films that are fueled by creativity. I have a soft spot for horror as a genre, and when filmmakers are given the opportunity to create big-budget spectacles that push the envelope, I am always eager to see what they come up with.
The Bride! is a wildly unique retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, complete with several modern twists and turns. Watching the film, it becomes clear that Maggie Gyllenhaal drew inspiration from many previous interpretations of the Frankenstein story while still striving to create something entirely her own. The film opens in black and white with Jessie Buckley portraying Mary Shelley as she recounts the story of how Ida (also played by Buckley) came to become the Bride of Frankenstein.
I have so much respect for Jessie Buckley as an actress. She may not yet be a household name, but I am convinced she is among the best actresses working today. I first discovered Buckley in Wild Rose, a film that I still believe was criminally underrated and overlooked. Of course, she is absolutely phenomenal in Hamnet, delivering the kind of emotionally devastating performance that has rightly earned her widespread recognition and countless awards.
What makes Buckley’s work in The Bride! so fascinating is how completely fearless the performance is. There is a theatrical quality to parts of the performance that could easily feel excessive but Buckley leans into the film’s madness and makes it work. Ida, as a character is unpredictable, unfiltered, and often chaotic, yet Buckley never loses sight of the humanity that is at the heart of her performance.
Maggie Gyllenhaal deserves a tremendous amount of respect for crafting something this bold and ambitious. Rather than simply retelling a familiar story, she approaches the material with a clear desire to challenge the viewer and our expectations. The Bride! often feels like a ultimate love letter to the many cinematic interpretations of Frankenstein, but it is elevated through Gyllenhaal’s own artistic lens. The result is a film that is strange, visually stunning, and unapologetically ballsy in the choices it makes.
At times, the film can feel like a fever dream. Gyllenhaal embraces an operatic sensibility that allows the story to swing wildly between horror, romance, and dark humor. Not every creative decision lands perfectly, and there are certain scenes where the film feels a bit indulgent or incomplete. Still, there is something quite refreshing about seeing a filmmaker take such big swings with source material that audiences think they already know.
One of my favorite scenes in the film is Maggie Gyllenhaal’s clever homage to Young Frankenstein, which features an instrumental version of the song Puttin’ on the Ritz playing in the background. The moment feels wonderfully random, but because Frank has such a strong obsession with movie musicals, it ends up being the perfect way to showcase his fascination with dancing and musical numbers while simultaneously paying tribute to one of the greatest comedies of all time.
As for Christian Bale, he delivers one of the most surprising performances of his career. Known for completely disappearing into his roles, Bale does something here that feels unlike anything we have seen from him before. Without giving too much away, he fully embraces the film’s eccentric tone and commits to it without hesitation. His portrayal of Frank begins with a sense of kindness and humanity, but that compassion slowly spirals into madness, forming a tangled web of lies driven entirely by love.
What ultimately makes The Bride! work, at least for me, is its willingness to embrace its own madness. This is not a safe or conventional studio film. It is weird, messy, ambitious, and occasionally over-the-top, but those qualities are exactly what make it so fascinating to watch. In an era where many big-budget films feel like rinse and repeat, there is something exciting about seeing a movie that is so fully committed to its own strange vision.
It is the same reason I admired Joker: Folie à Deux so much. I appreciated that the film was willing to challenge expectations and refuse to give audiences the movie they thought they were getting. Like Todd Phillips with Folie à Deux, Maggie Gyllenhaal is clearly more interested in pursuing a bold creative idea than playing it safe.
Will everyone love The Bride!? Absolutely not. In fact, I suspect it will be one of the more divisive films of the year, much like Wuthering Heights. But for audiences like me who appreciate filmmakers taking risks and pushing the boundaries of genre storytelling, there is a lot here to admire.
Gyllenhaal’s take on The Bride! feels like what might happen if the minds of Yorgos Lanthimos, Tim Burton, and Guillermo del Toro were thrown into a blender, with a touch of Emerald Fennell sprinkled on top. At its core, The Bride! feels like the ultimate love letter to Mary Shelley and the world of Frankenstein.
Grade: 7/10
Awards Buzz: In an ideal world, The Bride! would be recognized with several craft nominations, including Lawrence Sher’s cinematography, Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score, Karen Murphy’s production design, and Sandy Powell’s costumes. Unfortunately, unless the film becomes a box office success and generates more positive reactions than negative ones, it is hard to imagine that happening.
It is frustrating that we live in a time when audiences and voters often struggle to separate a film’s craft from their overall feelings about the movie itself. The Bride! and Wuthering Heights are two Warner Bros. titles that deserve serious recognition for their technical achievements, yet mixed word of mouth could easily leave both films walking away empty-handed when awards season arrives.
Trailer:
