The Bride – Movie Reviews by Ry!

The Bride – Dead in Love: I am Your Monster

When you look at life, you ponder a few things.  From what to expect to the outcome of situations, you hope that the journey is filled with something for you.  In stories, that idea becomes a marker for many emotions, especially in tales of love.  No matter the journey, you hope it was worth diving into that tale.  In this review, I look at the latest drama to hit the big screen.  Through a creative take of a classic tale, we embark on a journey in The Bride where monsters in love take on a whole new spin. 

Through the twists of eras and fate, an unlikely pairing of two becomes a journey of murder, romance and what it means to live.  Through the arts, there are many ways to provide that expressive detail.  It is a place where the creative and wonder cross paths, building towards a grip of the spastic and surreal.  For Maggie Gyllenhaal (Writer/Director), taking that creative risk leads to an adaptation that highlights what it means to be a true auteur.  In this tale, we follow Frank (Christian Bale), who meets with Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening) in hopes of finding true love.  Through their initial conversations, it is revealed that Frank is actually Frankenstein’s monster and that for a century, he has been trying to find a doctor that can create a companion (just like him).  After some unique scenes of author narrative intervention, he gets his wish when The Bride (Jessie Buckley) is created from a dead woman by the name of Ida.  From this point, they head off on an unlikely adventure where gangsters, murder and societal shifts come into play.  As the movie builds up their relationship, it slowly becomes a layered character retrospective on the ideas of life and love.  Through our main leads (Frank and The Bride), it is an unlikely pairing that breaks clichés of a typical romance through a layering of the surreal.  It is in this dynamic that you see a compliment from individuals that don’t see each other as monsters, but as wholesome companions.  The strength of the journey is in Bale and Buckley’s chemistry, one that brings about an ironic grounded sensation through the creative situations.  From the characters is the setting.  With a blending of 1930’s America, you get a fusion where the fantastical and realism collide, lifting the adaptation to feel uniquely genuine.  This blend allows the directive to push an artistic notion, one where the back-and-forth intervening narrator adds unpredictability to the journey. 

As situations turn dire for our couple, the film pushes these creative dynamics to a place where the dramatic zeal becomes an allure for what comes next.  The building block of romance against the backdrop of the 1930’s adds a furor of momentum, driving the fantastical elements to a point where situations become a commentary of what it means to live.  As the two continue to fall in love with one another, we head into a third act that brings everything full circle in the climax and epilogue.  The Bride is an artistic adaptation of a classic tale.  If you are a fan of art house or character films, you will have a good time here.  This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you will have fun if you see this on the big screen.        

Full Score – 3.5 out of 5 (Matinee)