(Photo Credit: Alon Amir)
(“The Bride” trailer courtesy of Warner Bros.)
Love comes in various forms, even for those in a relationship or marriage.
Some yearn for that old-school, traditional love.
Some desire that “ratchet” hood love.
But what about dead love?
In “The Bride,” writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal (“The Lost Daughter”) creates an odd, undesirable, and brutally weird love story.
And that description is meant in the most flattering way imaginable.
When married couples recite their vows, they often profess their commitment until death do them part.
Although already dead, Frankenstein’s Monster (Christian Bale, “Ford v Ferrari”) is like many other “people” in the fact that he does not want to die alone.
Better yet, Frank does not want to live alone because technically, he is already deceased.
Since his creation, he has existed in a very lonely place.
Because of his horrid appearance, people scurry when they see him.
They even gasp when he takes off his hat and face mask.
The only enjoyment he gets in life is when he goes to the picture show.
Only one actor inspires him.
And he only watches movies starring his favorite thespian, Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal, “The Covenant”).
But the author of the Frankenstein Monster never intended for the story to end with him.
She always intended for the monster to have a companion who would help him wreak havoc on the regular people of the world.
But for Frank to have a companion, the author must take control over a living woman’s body, mind and soul.
She must do that because she needs a woman to die so that a mad scientist like Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening, “Nyad”) can take her dead body and bring her back to the land of the living, so that she can live happily ever after with Frank.
Unfortunately, their union does not bring much happiness to the world, even though Frank has no intention of bringing out the monster in him.
But after he and his wife visit a nightclub/juke joint kinda venue, he must do everything in his power to protect his wife from would-be rapists who have no problem taking his wife’s goodies in public and in front of him.
A regular fight between Frank and the would-be rapists gets ugly quickly, forcing the newlyweds to flee the scene of the crime before the authorities arrive to apprehend them.
In “The Bride,” Frank knows what comes with being a misunderstood monster in a world of regular humans.
However, his new bride is new to this lifestyle, seeing that she had been asleep and out of touch with the world for quite some time before Dr. Euphronius resurrected her from the dead like Lazarus in an evil attempt at mimicking Jesus Christ.
Although Frank is better at eluding law enforcement than his young bride, he is not as good as he thinks he is because his habits make it way too easy for law enforcement officials like Myrna Mallow (Penelope Cruz) and Jake Wiles (Peter Sarsgaard) to predict his next moves.
Furthermore, the couple’s horrendous appearance makes it almost impossible to blend in with the crowd unless everyone else looks like monsters, too.
Another problem with the newlyweds is that the young bride is not the submissive type that many men hope their wives to be.
When someone asks the bride to do something that she is not fond of, she simply responds by saying, “I would prefer not.”
Although being submissive is not some women’s cup of tea, there are benefits to keeping one’s mouth shut and staying in one’s so-called place because a hard head often makes for a soft behind.
And sometimes, one person’s hard head and loudmouth can get everyone in trouble, or even worse.
But marriage is about better or worse, and with two monsters together, things might get worse than worse before it is all said and done.
One thing is for sure, and that is “The Bride” is not ordinary in any way.
The movie is the definition of eccentric and offbeat.
With the old Hollywood movie scenes with the Ronnie Reed character, it has a classic appearance.
The filmmaker gets the entire 1936 era correct with the old school cars and the snazzy wardrobes, also.
Additionally, “The Bride” also has a “Bonnie and Clyde” vibe to it because sometimes people get behind the outcasts of society when they stick it to the man.
And in “The Bride,” the escapades of the young couple resonate with women because many have never seen a young woman kick so many men’s behinds in such a violent manner.
But Maggie Gyllenhaal does not limit girl power to criminals in “The Bride.”
The character Myrna really epitomizes girl power even more so than The Bride (Jessie Buckley) because she exerts her power in a legal way, because of her job as a detective.
Although girl power was not much of a thing in the real 1930s, it is always great to see strong women on the big screen and behind the scenes in the director’s chair.
The filmmaker worked with Buckley on “The Lost Daughter,” and the two definitely have chemistry together.
Will their working relationship create a filmography like other popular filmmaker/actor duos like Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler, Spike Lee and Denzel Washington or Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese?
Only time will tell.
But it will not take much time for some moviegoers to appreciate the weirdness of “The Bride.
While “The Bride” may be too gory, violent and odd for some, those who like weird movies will absolutely love “The Bride.”
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
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