REVIEW — “THE BRIDE!”

Here comes THE BRIDE!, director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s exciting, electric and empowering femme-fatale gangster flick.

As the titular character, the phenomenal (soon-to-be Academy Award winner) Jesse Buckley delivers another Oscar-worthy performance. The film opens with on-camera narration by “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley (also Buckley) who sets the stage and introduces us to Ida, a call girl turned informant on a brutal Chicago mob boss (Zlatko Burić). While Ida parties and drinks with low-level gangsters (John Magaro and Matthew Maher), the unhinged narrator jump-starts the movie by possessing the poor girl. Infused with the author’s mad spirit, Ida’s loose lips and reckless behavior quickly get her killed.

Revived by mad scientist Dr. Euphronious (Annette Bening) at the behest of a desperately lonely Frankenstein’s monster (Academy Award winner Christian Bale), she awakes as The Bride. With no name and faint memories, she is a crazed and confused moll sputtering random, stream-of-consciousness wordplay to go along with the bloody, black bile that stains her face and tongue.

Like Andy Serkis’ Gollum, Buckley masterfully plays dual roles simultaneously. Shifting effortlessly between Ida and The Bride, she delivers each maddening monologue with tick-triggering convulsions in between moments of terrified confusion. Like a Tourette’s patient with a British accent, The Bride is a confident and uncontrollable force that takes Ida by surprise while giving her the voice she never had.

While she was brought back to life to be a wife, The Bride has her own desires and agenda. It’s an outrageous attitude for a woman in the 1930s and something that shocks nervous Frank, putting him back on his platformed heels as he realizes she is more than he bargained for. The Bride’s unpredictable swagger brings Frank out of his shell and appeals to his lesser demons.

Afraid of his violent past, Bale’s Frank is a sad and scarred monster who is in physical pain from his loneliness. Desperate for companionship and intimacy, the timid, quiet gentleman has lived 100 years in isolation, avoiding crowds so as to not incite a mob. Prone to panic attacks, Frank plays violin to settle his underlying rage and finds comfort at the movies, calming himself at silver screen musicals starring his favorite singing and tap dancing movie star, Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal).

Jake is perfectly cast as the debonair romantic lead of a series of movies that inspire how Frank approaches romance. The younger Gyllenhaal even does his own singing in the 1930s style of Al Josten. When a chance encounter between fanboy Frank and cocky Reed goes poorly, it results in an aggressive, high-energy, Thriller-like fantasy dance sequence to “Puttin’ On the Ritz”, a wild nod to Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein complete with zombie-like dancers doing high-stepping Charlestons.

The fallout of the encounter sends Frank and his Bride on the run. As the monstrous Bonnie and Clyde traverse the country, the pair inspire a “Brain Attack” movement of female empowerment and uprising that sweeps the big cities from Chicago to New York. Their antics also draw the attention of clever detectives Jake Wiles (Peter Sarsgaard) and Myrna Mallow (Penelope Cruz) who are hot on their trail. Mayhem and madness ensue as Ida finally finds her voice, becoming one with The Bride in a shocking finale.

It’s yet to be determined if this film will find its audience while in theaters; however, THE BRIDE!’s audience will definitely find this film. Featuring what is sure to be the most impactful character design in recent years, THE BRIDE! will be cemented as a pop-culture staple come fall, inspiring countless Halloween costumes just like the Joker from The Dark Knight and Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad. Get ready to see a sea of Bride and Frankenstein cosplayers and trick-or-treaters.

Already an Academy Award-nominated writer/director (The Lost Daughter), Maggie Gyllenhaal has a keen eye for grandscale cinema. It’s in her blood, after all, and this film is a true family affair, combining the talents of her brother, husband and former Dark Knight co-star to deliver a big-screen vehicle that finally gives voice to a voiceless character. As the film’s screenwriter, Gyllenhaal re-envisions the Bride of Frankenstein as a powerful, independent and unnatural force of nature. As director, she has crafted a hypnotically cool, tragi-romance, fever dream of monstrosity and madness that fits perfectly within the scope and scale of an IMAX screen.

The sci-fi horror film from Warner Bros. Pictures is, itself, a Frankenstein of fan-favorite pop-culture icons. THE BRIDE! stitches the body of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet with the music video heart of his Moulin Rouge and infuses it with the violent spirit of Bonnie and Clyde and damaged mind of The Joker and Harley Quinn to create a macabre masterpiece that is destined to become an instant cult classic and inspire a generation of rebellious young brides. An electric and jolting ride, THE BRIDE! is a bold, monstrously cool pop-culture take on an iconic love story. 4/5

Rated R with a running time of 2 hours and 7 minutes, THE BRIDE! opens only in theaters and IMAX on March 6, 2026.