Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!,” a fantastical retelling of 1935’s “Bride of Frankenstein,” is a Frankenstein’s monster of its own; a “creature” made up of old, perhaps-forgotten genres, films and cultural artifacts stitched together and reanimated for a contemporary audience. Gyllenhaal’s film is a direct rebuttal to the original 1935 film in which the titular “Bride” is mostly absent from the screen, only appearing near the end and delivering no lines. In contrast, Gyllenhaal’s reimagining of The Bride, played by recent Oscar-winner Jessie Buckley, is anything but silent. Also making an appearance in the film, and speaking her mind, is Mary Shelley, the author of the original “Frankenstein” novel, also played by Buckley, who opens the film from the afterlife, informing the audience that she still has more to say and more stories to tell.
Shelley’s story unfolds through Ida (Buckley), a young woman living in 1930s Chicago, who, after publicly speaking out against mob boss Lupino (Zlatko Burić), is murdered by henchmen and later brought back to life by a lonely, lovelorn Frankenstein (Christian Bale) and the scientist (Annette Benning) he has enlisted to make him a wife. Waking up after her reanimation, Ida has no memories of her past life, and along with Frank, who she is told is her husband, she’s soon on the run from the law after Frank defends her from an attempted assault.
Gyllenhaal’s film draws from numerous moments in 1930s film and history, most notably the 1930s musical genre, which was led by singing-and-dancing actors like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Christian Bale’s Frankenstein, who is nicknamed Frank, is a fan of the musical genre, looks up to actor Ronnie Reed, a dancer and actor reminiscent of Astaire, and is played by director Gyllenhaal’s brother, actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Frank and The Bride go see Ronnie Reed’s films several times, even breaking out in several dance numbers themselves, as Frank imagines him and The Bride as the romantic leads of a Ronnie Reed picture.
When the Bride can’t remember her name and asks Frank to tell her, he first tells her that her name is Ginger, which makes her laugh. He then tells her he was only joking and that her name is Penelope Rogers, referencing the surname of Fred Astaire’s dancing partner. At one point, The Bride is decked out in a feather dress inspired by one Ginger Rogers wore in the 1935 musical film “Top Hat.” There is also a musical number to the song “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” which first appeared in a 1930 film of the same name. The song was famously covered by Fred Astaire, and later included in the 1974 comedy “Young Frankenstein,” where Gene Wilder’s Dr. Frankenstein performs a tap dance routine with Peter Boyle as Frankenstein’s Monster.
“The Bride!” also makes references to 1930s history, with The Bride and Frank’s fugitive romance mirroring the 1932 to 1934 crime spree of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, more well known as Bonnie and Clyde. Just as in the case of Bonnie Parker, The Bride has an injured right leg, which causes her to walk with a limp. Perhaps referencing the 1960s fashion trend that the 1967 film “Bonnie and Clyde” caused, women in “The Bride!,” inspired by The Bride’s outspoken resistance to the corrupt Chicago police, and gang-violence perpetrated against women, paint The Bride’s distinctive black chemical stain on their faces and run through the streets, wielding guns and screaming.
While some critics find Gyllenhaal’s choice to include so many references in her film messy, chaotic or even lazy, the structure of the film reflects its themes of splintered identity, violence against women and the search for agency in a patriarchal world. Among the disorder of the film, Jessie Buckley’s performance as the Bride is incomparable, and despite some complaints against what some see as the film’s lackluster or imperfect feminism, “The Bride!” is eccentric, wild and imaginative and gives a strong, and sometimes vulgar, voice to a character that has previously remained silent.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.