Review: The Bride!

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Official synopsis: In 1930s Chicago, Frankenstein (Christian Bale) asks Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening) to help create a companion. They give life to a murdered woman Ida (Jessie Buckley) as the Bride, sparking romance, police and radical social change.

It's only fitting we get The Bride soon after Frankenstein. Not that either film is connected other than being Franken-Fan-Fic, but director Maggoe Gyllenhaal takes a huge swing with this and I'm here for it.

The Bride! tries to be many things. A love story, a police drama, the start of a feminist movement. It also attempts to invoke the voice of the Mary Shelley, which is a bold choice. Not all of these things work. Penelope Cruz and Peter Sarsgard have an interesting dynamic as detectives, and I wish the film had done more with the part of the story that was linked to them BEFORE they are hunting for a pair of murderers. (No spoilers) I think they could've leaned more into the work Ida was doing prior and fleshed out that story more.

Where The Bride fell short for me was the love story aspect. I didn't buy it. I also didn't care for how much sexual violence was threatened throughout. It's not graphic, but it felt lazy. I also don't think the cuts to Mary Shelley always worked, even though it elevated Buckley's performance.

That's where the film shines. Buckley is sensational and the way Gyllenhaal envokes classic cinema into the story was lovely. The cast is very strong and are clearly having fun in their roles. I think the positives far outweigh the negatives. 

Grade: B-

Comments

  1. ruthMarch 9, 2026 at 12:55 PM

    I haven't got a chance to see this yet but I'm really curious about it. It's too bad it bombed spectacularly at the box office, it doesn't bode well for female directors :( I'd think this cast would bring in more butts in seats.

    ReplyDelete
  2. thevoid99March 9, 2026 at 4:32 PM

    I hope to see this when it arrives on HBO Max soon (before that awful Paramount+ merger is completed... ugh...) though I'm sad but not surprised it bombed at the box office. Plus, who keeps getting Julianne Hough film roles? She can't act for shit.

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  3. SJHoneywellMarch 10, 2026 at 10:07 AM

    I have to wonder exactly how much of the critical backlash against this film is because of who directed it and where it's coming from. This is clearly going to be a feminist take on the story (appropriate), and there are going to be a lot of people who don't like that.

    I'm interested in it specifically because of this. When it feels like the reviews are negative because of political reasons, my ears perk up.

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  4. Disgruntled Job SeekerMarch 10, 2026 at 11:50 AM

    i mostly enjoyed the movie, though I agree that the Mary Shelley appearances never worked for me.

    ReplyDelete

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