Here Comes 'The Bride!'
It’s a gutsy move to include “Puttin’ on the Ritz” in a new Frankenstein movie since it’s so closely associated with Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein. But like many of the bets in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride, it pays off.
The film transposes the story of the Bride of Frankenstein to 1936 Chicago, where the creature (here called “Frank”) wants a companion after more than a century of loneliness. With the help of mad scientist Dr. Euphronius, he exhumes and reanimates the body of gangster’s moll Ida.
Frank and Ida embark on a twisted crime spree across the United States, leaving chaos in their wake as two detectives pursue them.
Writer/director Gyllenhaal puts one too many plot strands in her retelling. For example, the spirit of Mary Shelley possesses Ida early in the movie. It’s a cool idea, but it manifests in Ida entering a trance-like state and spouting random nonsense. This aspect adds nothing to the story.
On the bright side, the cast leaves it all on the field. Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale go for broke as Ida and the creature. Buckley, a likely Oscar winner for Hamnet, channels Lady Gaga in the intensity of her performance. You can’t take your eyes off her.
Bale similarly commits in several song-and-dance sequences, including “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” Frank also imagines himself in musicals featuring his favorite actor, Ronnie Reed (played by Gyllenhaal’s brother Jake).
Peter Sarsgaard and Penelope Cruz get moments to shine as the two detectives, as does Annette Bening as Dr. Euphronius.
Sometimes it’s OK to throw subtlety out the window. While The Bride isn’t in the same league as Guillermo del Toro’s recent Frankenstein, Gyllenhaal still puts a memorable spin on the material.
