Jessie Buckley electrifies Maggie Gyllenhaal's bold reinvention of a classic myth
It has been over 200 years since Mary Shelley first wrote Frankenstein; Or the Modern Prometheus, and in the last two centuries, there have been numerous adaptations and variations. The first was a play called Presumption; Or, the Fate of Frankenstein, which was performed at the English Opera House in 1823. Since then, we have seen the novel made into numerous films, and we have witnessed "spin-offs", if you will. The most famous of these is the 1935 movie The Bride of Frankenstein. This March, we will get another look at that film when first-time director Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight) brings The Bride! to theaters nationwide.
In 1930s Chicago, The Monster (Christian Bale; The Dark Knight) goes to see Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening; 20th Century Women), tells her how lonely he is, and asks her to make him a mate. Together they dig up a recently deceased young woman (Jessie Buckley; Hamnet) who was buried in a pauper's grave and bring her back to life. Not remembering any of her past, the monster tells her various lies while she takes him to various nefarious places. When two guys attack them as they leave the club, the Monster saves her, but they flee when their photo is taken. This sets off a chain of events in which The Monster and the young woman, Ida/Penelope/The Bride, run from the police and try to survive.
I have said in numerous reviews that Jessie Buckley is an incredible actor, and The Bride! is just another example of her superior talent. Without her, the movie would have ended up very differently and, quite frankly, probably not very good. Bale complements Buckley well, and together they are a Tour de Force to be reckoned with. Bening, Peter Sarsgaard (September 5), Penélope Cruz (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), and Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain) round out the cast beautifully.
For Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Bride! marks her sophomore feature film and writing credential effort, with this being her first original screenplay. From her debut in 2021's The Lost Daughter to this second movie, she is quickly establishing herself as a master in filmmaking. The visuals of this movie are striking, and her pacing and editing skills are excellent. The dance sequence is unique and offers interesting angles that enhance the overall viewing. She makes bold choices that make her movies more exciting. If there is one drawback to her style of filmmaking, it is that it has a little bit of an "independent, arthouse" feel and therefore may not appeal to mass audiences, though with an $80 million budget, it is anything but "independent, arthouse".
In a time when action movies reign supreme at the box office and horror films have a solid foothold in the market share, The Bride! combines some of this and that, a little romance, etc., to create something truly unique, but that is steeped in previous works on the subject matter. It is a film that has many subtleties and underlying messages that are not overtly shoved in one's face, but rather are simmering just below the surface, and that make the audience think about what they just witnessed. From women's rights to police corruption and the delicate dance that tiptoes on the border between science for good and science that takes things too unnecessarily far, there is much to digest in this work of art, and the film stays with you long after the credits roll.
I can see this movie being nominated for numerous awards next year, especially another Academy Award nomination for Buckley, and any would be well deserved. The Bride! currently goes to one of the top spots on my list of best movies of 2026, again due in part to the brilliant performance of Jessie Buckley, not to mention the fact that Maggie Gyllenhaal may just be a mad genius!
Grade: A
