The Bride! Review: Too Many Things, All of Them Interesting

The opening sequence of this film was amazing. I was cheering and clapping in my seat (I was watching in our living room). And it’s marvelous to see Jessie Buckley in a completely different light. I really can’t wait to see what she does next.

What follows is a very unique meet-cute, on paper at least. Maggie Gyllenhaal wanted to do so many things with this film, all of which are and would have been amazing. The weirdness, the oddness, the theme-shifting.

Christian Bale is funny and endearing as Frank, and it’s also a lovely take on “monsters”. Frank reveals himself to be such a gentle creature. But there were still violent scenes which felt cathartic. And then, seemingly off-tangent, Frank has this whole fascination with the Jake Glynhall character. That whole dynamic, including the dance breaks, oddly gave off some La La Land feels.

But somewhere in the middle, I kind of lost interest. Yes, it’s a take on Bonnie & Clyde, but mostly it’s an awakening to the rampant sexual abuse of the 1930s and a call to arms for women.

The film could have used a little more editing. I feel like Gyllenhaal wanted to do so many things, but perhaps it would have been better executed as a limited series instead of a film. There are too many sub-plots and side-characters, and even for the main protagonists, it’s like there are several stories within this one.

One major discomfort for me is the suspension of reality when I realized that Mary Shelley’s soul, which embodies Ida, was in the same world as Frankenstein’s monster. When it hit me, I was just taken out of it. It’s like if you were watching Harry Potter and he could all of a sudden communicate with the spirit of J.K. Rowling.

I really wanted to like this film. I am rooting for it still. It is ambitious and smart, but perhaps it ended up being too many things.

3/5 stars

If you’re keeping a film diary, find me on Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/migmol