The Bride!

I really wanted to like this one...

Since I didn't enjoy Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein as much as everyone else seemed to, I was looking forward to seeing Maggie Gyllenhaal's take on these iconic characters. Unfortunately, I didn't really care for her updated twist on this classic tale either.

In her reimagining, a lonely Frankenstein travels to 1930s Chicago to ask groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious to create a companion for him. So the two attempt to revive a murdered young woman, and successfully give birth to... The Bride!

Now, that sounds like a pretty straightforward synopsis, but the story being told is surprisingly sloppy and unnecessarily bloated. At 2 hours and 6 minutes in length, the movie is way longer than it needs to be.

Thankfully, Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley do a fantastic job of carrying this film. Of course, Bale is great in whatever he appears in. So, I personally do enjoy his take on Frankenstein's monster, and I even prefer his look to Jacob Elordi's recent aesthetic.

But Buckley is also impressive here, especially since she's delivering dual performances =. Not only does she play the titular Bride, but she also portrays the ghostly spirit of author Mary Shelley.

That's right, the author of Frankenstein is a character alongside Frankenstein here. Which is... an interesting creative choice. One that raises a few questions.

If Mary Shelley still wrote Frankenstein in this universe, does that mean she wrote a biography instead of a science-fiction novel? Because, if that is the case, then why does she feel the need to tell another "story" here? The Bride isn't a fictional character in this continuity, and neither is Frankenstein's monster. So, does Frank know of Mary Shelley's existence? You would think he does since she popularized his life story, but he doesn't seem to recognize her spirit from within The Bride. So I don't really understand Shelley's place in the story being told here. You can cut her role out of the film entirely, and the movie wouldn't be all too different.

Gyllenhaal probably wanted to go for a Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde situation here, but I think that could've worked without having  the ghost of Mary Shelley possesing The Bride. Because, instead of focusing on the movie itself, I was constantly distracted by the fact that ghosts and the afterlife are real in this continuity. And that did pull me out of the story quite a bit.

Still, its fun to watch Buckley pull double duty here. She's great. It's just a shame that she isn't starring in a better movie. And, aside from Bale and Buckley herself, the rest of the cast feels a little misplaced here.

Jake Gyllenhaal is fun as a popular Hollywood actor that Frank idolizes, but he isn't given much to do in the actual story.

Annette Bening has a more active role as Dr. Euphronious, but she also doesn't get a lot of development here.

Peter Sarsgaard and Penélope Cruz star as two police detectives, but both of them feel very out of place in this movie.

And the rest of the supporting characters come across as cartoonish caricatures.

So Buckley and Bale do a lot of the heavy lifting here. And, while they do have solid chemistry together, they're not enough to make up for how silly and sloppy this story can really be.

To be fair, Maggie Gyllenhaal does make some interesting stylistic choices. Her direction gives the film a fun, chaotic, and uniquely wild personality. I just wish that the tone felt a bit more grounded, and that the narrative felt a little more cohesive.

I do think the film is more memorable than her directorial debut, but that's probably for all of the wrong reasons. The Lost Girl is a critically acclaimed film, after all, and The Bride is just... not that.

But while I may have differing issues with both of her films, I still think that Gyllenhaal has proven to be a talented filmmaker in general. I like her creative/ artistic voice. And I'm definitely interested in seeing whatever she may helm next.

Even with that being said, though, I can't deny that I found her sophomore outing to be a bit disappointing. And, given the divisive response to it, I think a lot of people would agree with me on that.

So, would I actually recommend this movie? Well... it's hard to say, but I think I would prefer not to.