Credit to writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal: The Bride! is a big, bold unconventional Warner Brothers property.
It’s something of a marvel that Gyllenhaal was able to convince the WB brass to hand over $80-90M for her daring, brazen take on the infamous James Whale character. The result is a film that isn’t wholly successful, frequently veering from the scene to scene with persistent dips in energy and too many uneven subplots, but ultimately offers enough interesting moments to merit checking out.
Dominating the text is Jessie Buckley, who delivers an absolutely go for broke performance as three different characters. Initially introduced as author Mary Shelley in a dream-like, hypnotic black and white purgatory, Buckley simmers with feminist rage as she seeks to possess floozy Ida (also Buckley) in 1930s Chicago, where the girl parties with the lackeys of mob boss Lupino (Zlatko Burić).
Buckley’s commanding skills are on display early as the thespian seamlessly alternates between Shelley and Ida’s personalities, often within a single line of dialogue. There’s also a striking physicality to the Irish actress’ performance; the film frequently requires her to gyrate, throw herself (or be thrown) around, in addition to dancing, shooting, and running.
When Ida is killed in a (purposeful?) accident on a flight of stairs, the action briefly turns to Frank (Christian Bale), the monstrous Frankenstein creation who is dying of loneliness. He’s introduced seeking out the services of mad scientist Cornelia Euphronious (Annette Bening) with the intention of procuring a bride in order to engage in the carnal activities that he’s never experienced.
The result is Buckley’s third character: the amnesiac Bride (though she won’t name herself as such until near the end of the film). This new tabula rasa embarks on a lied-fueled whirlwind love affair with Frank that racks up countless bodies in their wake (Bonnie & Clyde is a clear cultural reference, though there are many others in the media literate film).
Following in the lovers wake are Detective Jake Wiles (Peter Sarsgaard) and his “assistant” Myrna Mallow (Penélope Cruz), who is not-so-secretly a much better investigator than her male counterpart, despite receiving none of the credit.
Thanks to Frank (and, by extension, the film’s) reverence for classic cinema, there’s also a recurring visual motif about the power of cinema, specifically screwball romances and musicals. This is embodied by Jake Gyllenhaal‘s Ronnie Reed, an actor who exemplifies Frank’s romantic ideals to such a degree that fiction and reality frequently blur in the creature’s mind.
The Bride! is undeniably a genre collage, ranging from crime flick to feminist creed to romance/anti-romance to musical (the film boats several full-blown numbers), and even body horror (“reinvigorated” bodies are routinely probed and examined).
Which is to say that it is a lot: clocking in at an occasionally punishing 126 minutes, The Bride! contains at least two or three possible climaxes, as well as a range of subplots that sometimes cloud the themes and messaging.
But it is also often a very funny, frequently scream-y text with plenty on its mind (sometimes to its own detriment). The maximalist, over the top, everything and the kitchen sink approach is apt to doom Gyllenhaal’s film to cult classic status, something that is already evident in the polarized reviews from critics. Audiences who venture out may be charmed by the film’s unusual, oddball flavour, though many may simultaneously wish for a tighter, more streamlined cut.
Still, credit to Maggie Gyllenhaal for taking such a big, bold, audacious swing. You can’t say that she played it safe. 2.5/5
The Bride! is out in theaters March 6, 2026
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