Buckley and Bale Ignite The Screen in The Bride!

Director Maggie Gyllenhaal addressed all of that and more with her re-imagined tale simply titled The Bride! Let’s be clear, this is not the story of Frankenstein, but rather the origin story of his bride and how she came into existence. Much like Bonnie & Clyde and Romeo & Juliet, this is a love story steeped in feminism through the eyes of  Ida/Penelope aka The Bride.

The first time we lay eyes on Ida, she is very much alive and raising hell with friends and foes.  She’s a little offbeat, yet owning every idiosyncracy making the entire establishment uncomfortable and put on notice that this is one woman who will not be toyed with.  When her untimely demise is interrupted by Frankie (Christian Bale) and Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening) unearthing her body to serve as a mate for Frankie – things get out of hand and become super interesting.

Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale are like two sticks of dynamite lit with one fuse providing fantasy performances fueled with fire. They seep into characters whose imaginations are invigorated through the care, love and protective nature they share for one another, but bring their heightened reality down by escaping to the B&W films of Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal).

Buckley is fearless delving into the skin of  two women, as she also serves as Frankenstein author Mary Shelley. Bale is refreshingly vulnerable and insecure as Frankenstein, yet when the monster side reveals itself – it is more than a notion. Not to mention that in this re-imagined story – women (in addition to Buckley) are particularly badass. The inventor/scientist portrayed by Oscar winner Annette Bening has a mind of her own and never does as she is told.  Penelope Cruz (Myran Mallow), although grossly disrespected in her peer circles is always the smartest person in the room and takes charge as such.  These are just a few of the moments in which the screenplay – in my opinion shines bright like a diamond.

With lines like “…isn’t everybody born from the dead” or “it’s your mind that I love,” Gyllenhaal gives Frankie and Ida license to be truthful with one another.  As relationships evolve between men and women in the embryo stages, we discover monsters are no different.  It’s tricky.  We lie to each other, for each other and about each other all time in the name of love. Yet, moments of levity break up the intensity with clips of Reed’s musical numbers often used as a meditative calming mechanism for Frankie’s anxiety.  My favorite moment in the film is the spastic, intriguing staging of  “Putting on The Ritz,” where Bale and Buckley shine like the brightest chandelier in the room.

Additionally, Ida standing by her man gives credence to the ideology of when woman stand up – it incites a movement giving women a voice that continually attempts to be silenced by the status quo and those in power.  Karen Murphy’s breathtaking production design coupled with Sandy Powell’s costumes and that insane makeup from Roberto Baez  makes this film pop in unimaginable ways.

The Bride! isn’t an extension of Frankenstein, but an entity and personality unto herself who doesn’t need permission from anyone to be uniquely her – flaws, tattoos and all. Mary Shelley may have written the classic Frankenstein on a dare, but The Bride! is a film that gives feminism a voice during an era where it was pitch quiet and now has been unleashed for the masses to behold.