‘The Bride!’: Fascinating yet forgettable

Coming closely on the heels of Guillermo del Toro’s dream version of ‘Frankenstein’, the first to ever be nominated for Best Picture Oscar, writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Bride of Frankenstein story has a lot going for it, just as there’s a lot undermining it.

‘The Bride!’ is a quasi-feminist re-imagining of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, which reinvents the Bride of Frankenstein in a mythical Hollywood doomed romance.

The film, in fact, opens with a black-and-white version of Mary Shelley (Jessie Buckley) looking for a human vessel to possess. Buckley also plays Ida, who winds up dead, and becomes the vessel for a ‘reinvigorated’ awakening.

Set in the 1930s’ Chicago, Frankenstein (Christian Bale), who is rather fond of movie star Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal), scours the city for a doctor, Dr Euphronious (Annette Bening), an experimental scientist, to produce a bride to cure his loneliness. A murdered woman is then given life as the Bride. Thereafter, and quite obviously, the story takes a romantic turn while police investigations and social transformation are triggered.

Incidentally, celebrated actors Peter Sarsgaard and Penelope Cruz play an odd detective duo to spice up the plot.

The plotting goes haywire in trying to put together elements that don’t make an organic whole. The director leans into an operatic arc to tell this story but the result is terribly off.

The script, plotting, pacing and tone don’t generate a wholesome experience, while the lack of a steady rhythm and uncoordinated helming distend the experience. Individual sequences drag on endlessly and one doesn’t get a clear hang of the story being told.

Gyllenhaal attempts to tell a stylish yet twisted love story in Gothic splendour, but despite the visual grandeur, there’s very little substance to hold you in thrall. Conceptually strong, the film’s over-ambitious execution fails to deliver the desired results. The script appropriates modern sensibilities while making references to ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ and ghosts from early Hollywood films. It’s a confusing, messy mishmash of ideas that feels chaotic and unhinged.

On the level of feeling, however, the film manages to get it right. Jessie Buckley’s phenomenal performance drives that aspect through to fruition. Despite the messy script, the underlying feelings of obsession and longing are felt quite strongly. Her performance makes you feel the Bride’s desperation for connection.

The movie is visually satisfying. The production design, cinematography, costuming, styling, etc, enhance the dramatic effects of the story. The witty dialogues and an inviting background score by Hildur Guonadottir add to the pluses. But the overstuffed script doesn’t allow any room for steady and intense engagement.

This film presents an illusion of profundity that begins to wear off within the first 20 or so minutes itself. The prosthetics, makeup, and horror-romance fail to make amends for a largely undercooked extravagance. This shapeless reimagining of a classic story fails to generate any sense of wonderment.