The Bride! released on March 6 and did not fail to meet and exceed my expectations.
Produced, directed, and written by Maggie Gyllenhaal the movie is a continuation of the classic Frankenstein story, where the lonely creature finds a scientist and convinces her to fulfill his request for a companion like him.
The movie is an absolute whirlwind and exploration of many, many themes and ideas. Although this is only Gyllenhaal’s third project where she worked behind the scenes, she executed it with precision and strength, and it was evident that she had no fear in committing to new ideas.
With stars like Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, along with a small appearance from Gylenhaal’s brother, Jake Gylenhaal, the project’s cast is very strong and each actor’s or actress’ filmography attests to this strength. Bale plays the creature, while Buckley plays his companion, as they travel together and create new memories.
The creature is characterized as a film lover, so a lot of the film revolves around the couple’s travels to different cities for different movie premieres as they are simultaneously running away from law enforcement. Detectives chase them following different acts of violence they were proponents of in the Chicago area and beyond. As this chase unfolds, a very interesting detective subplot develops that explores the challenges of women, specifically working women, in the 1930s.
To some, the movie is a hodgepodge of ideas—too many of them, with a lack of organization. However, while that opinion may hold a little bit of truth to it, that is one of the things I found that I most enjoyed about the project—its running with many, many ideas, not shying away from them, and really following through with them.
The Bride! receives a 5/5 from me, despite not so positive reviews from the public thus far, I think it is a film that makes you think about many themes that everyone must watch. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s future in directing, producing, and writing, looks very bright and exciting to me following the release of this film.