By Mark Fields
Riveting Yet Slyly Funny Take on Monster Horror
There have been umpteen remakes of the classic 1931 monster movie Frankenstein (including a really good one just last year by director Guillermo del Toro), but to my knowledge no-one has ever tried to remake the 1935 sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein. That is, until now. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight, Secretary), who made her directorial debut with The Lost Daughter, has written and directed a new version with a captivating, updated sensibility and a sly sense of humor but also with a solid dose of horror frisson to satisfy the aficionados of the genre.
Inspired by Mary Shelley’s original 1818 novel — written on a dare from Lord Byron, incidentally — The Bride! is set in Depression-Era America and imagines a lonely Creature (Christian Bale) requesting that Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening), another visionary/crackpot scientist in the spirit of the original Doctor, make a companion for him. One of the fascinating conceits of Gyllenhaal’s film is that Shelley herself is a character in the film, an intelligent, gifted woman who has been marginalized and disregarded by history because of her gender. Shelley chooses to occupy, at least partially, the soul of the murdered woman brought back to life to be the Creature’s mate, and Shelley brings her well-earned anger and frustration with her.
The Bride herself, sometimes called Ida or Penelope or Penny (Jessie Buckley), is a boisterous, lusty, and perceptive character, fully a match to the Creature, whom she drolly calls Frankie. By contrast, Frankie is a more melancholy and sentimental sort, entranced by old Hollywood musicals and one movie actor in particular, Ronnie Reed (played by Gyllenhaal’s brother, Jake). The two, however, have a chemistry born of their shared status of lonely reanimated corpses. Inevitably, their appearance and otherworldly energy draws unwelcome attention, and they become reluctant fugitives. Thus, director-writer Gyllenhaal expands her genre homage to incorporate a little “Bonnie and Clyde” tribute as well.
But Gyllenhaal has more on her mind than a simple updating of a genre classic. She thoughtfully uses the horror form and the character of the Bride (and Mary Shelley as well) to comment on women’s agency in a man’s world, the right to control one’s own destiny and one’s voice, and even the crushing power of loneliness and estrangement.
The entire vibe of The Bride! is intentionally – and effectively – over the top. The jittery editing, the evocative 1930s production design, and the heightened performances all contribute to a movie that is brimming with ideas and energy. Buckley and Bale are both terrific, as are Bening, brother Gyllenhaal, Penelope Cruz as an aspiring female detective, and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s husband, Peter Sarsgard, as a sad-sack cop.
Which leads me to another aspect of The Bride! that entertain this critic. There are all sorts of Easter eggs for Hollywood and horror fans alike. The film is set in the 1930s, a period that saw the introduction of the monster movie subgenre with Frankenstein, Dracula, and King Kong all becoming popular and iconic films. Frankie’s infatuation with movie musicals – which we see in lustrous, loving clips – is a clear shout-out to another popular 1930s genre.
Both Jake Gyllenhaal and Sarsgard are cast against type, playing characters unlike most of the roles for whom either actor has become famous. And Gyllenhaal even sneaks some jokes into the background music: a frenetic dance scene is performed to the melody of Irving Berlin’s “Puttin’ On the Ritz” (used to great effect in the satiric Young Frankenstein) and the end credits roll to the tune of “The Monster Mash.” Although Gyllenhaal has weighty things to say in The Bride!, she can say some of them with her tongue firmly in cheek.
The Bride! is likely not everyone’s cup of tea. One needs to willingly buy into the excessive, even baroque vibe for the film to work. But those who appreciate serious ideas wrapped in well-executed genre trappings, then the movie offers many delights as Gyllenhaal brings this classic story back to messy, vibrant life.
Official Trailer
