The Bride!
Click the pic to watch our FOX19 Morning Extra review of The Bride!!!!
The Bride! is playing in theaters at the time of review. Rated R. Common Sense says 17+
In 1930s Chicago, Frankenstein (Christian Bale) asks Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening) to help create a companion. They give life to a murdered woman (Jessie Buckley) as the Bride, sparking romance, police interest, and radical social upheaval.
STORY: C-
A repetitive mess.
The film repeats a handful of beats.: the monster and the Bride are found; they flee to a new city; the local police, dogged detectives, and Chicago mafia close in.
No matter how many times the pattern repeats, neither the story’s stakes nor the emotional weight increase. Adding unbelievable plot points — how exactly did that hired goon know they were in Niagara Falls? — to the film’s spinning wheels makes this journey to nowhere not worth the trip.
PEOPLE: B-
Jessie Buckley proves she’s the greatest.
Buckley plays both The Bride and Mary Shelley, at times seeming to play them simultaneously. Buckley bounces between these three personas quickly and seamlessly (pardon the Frankenstein pun). It’s a bravura performance.
Maybe Buckley wrecks the grading curve for everyone else. The rest of the cast never seems able to match her intensity and feels uneven in comparison.
FILM NERD STUFF: B+
Below-the-line craftwork shines.
The costumes, hair, makeup, and lavish sets drop us into a devilishly fantastic iteration of 1930s America. Along with Buckley’s performance, the rich, savory details of this world are what keep us watching.
ONE BIG LESSON: B
Sometimes, you just need to scream.
Many critics are describing this film as a big swing. I found it to be more of a big scream.
The 19th century’s version of patriarchal society kept Shelley from living life on her own terms. She could not say the things she wanted to. She could not write the stories she wanted to. She could not even write the stories she wanted to tell.
It’s easy to see how writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal might relate. Women in Hollywood don't often get the opportunity to helm a picture as big as this one. After a successful, more traditional first effort, Gyllenhaal lets her frustrations fly here.
It results in a messy film, but rage can often be messy.
FINAL COMMENTS:
As a man, I cannot know what it feels like to be a woman, let alone a woman working in Hollywood. My heart and ears are open to whatever Gyllenhaal has to say on the subject.
Gyllenhaal doesn’t use this film to communicate a list of grievances or offer potential solutions. As stated, she just screams. The film’s vibrations will echo through theaters around the world.
Some viewers may question why Gyllenhaal would choose to make a cutting, loud, jumbled mess of a movie. I think the better question would be: Why have we designed our world in such a way that this movie becomes necessary?