The initial wave of critical reviews has arrived for The Bride—Maggie Gyllenhaal’s bold reimagining of The Bride of Frankenstein, featuring lead performances by Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale.
As of this writing, the film holds a 58% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 56 out of 100 on Metacritic. Critics have frequently drawn stylistic parallels to films such as Bonnie and Clyde, Joker: Folie à Deux, Sid and Nancy, and Natural Born Killers.
On the negative side, reviewers pointed to a cumbersome narrative structure, a lack of overall cohesion, and an inflated runtime. Conversely, some writers praised the powerhouse acting from Bale and Buckley, as well as the film’s intentional subversion of traditional genre expectations.
Helmed by director Maggie Gyllenhaal, the story transports audiences to 1930s Chicago. The plot centers on the creature, Frank, who enlists a scientist to engineer a life partner to serve as his companion—a request that results in the birth of the Bride.
The star-studded ensemble includes Penélope Cruz, Annette Bening, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Peter Sarsgaard. Produced on a $100 million budget (excluding promotional expenses), industry analysts project that The Bride could gross approximately $40 million during its global opening weekend. The film is set to hit theaters this week, on March 6.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.
Review
A Grittier “Poor Things”: A Review of Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride!
March 4 / Text: Katya Karslidi
