Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley’s new film, The Bride!, is dividing critics, with some praising its bold choices and others criticizing them.
The duo stars as the iconic monster couple in the Maggie Gyllenhaal-directed new adaptation of the 1935 film, Bride of Frankenstein. The cast also includes Annette Bening, Peter Sarsgaard, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Penelope Cruz. The film, set in 1930s Chicago, follows the story of a young woman (Buckley) who, after being brutally murdered, is brought back to life to be a companion to Frankenstein’s monster (Bale). Together, they wreak havoc throughout the city to embrace their own sense of vigilante justice. The review embargo lifted this week ahead of its Thursday night theatrical release. As of March 5th, The Bride! holds a 62% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 119 critic reviews.
Josh Parham of nextbestpicture.com wrote in his review,
…director Maggie Gyllenhaal offers a bold take on this material in The Bride! that strays far away from what many would expect. This adaptation certainly gets points for creativity, but it also struggles to be impactful due to its lackluster storytelling.
Alison Willmore of Vulture wasn’t as enamored by the film’s ambitious retelling of the story. She writes,
It’s also an inherent disaster – and not of the noble folly variety. It leaves you with the sinking feeling of watching someone fight their way to the front of a crowd to speak, only to realize when the spotlight is finally on them that they’re not actually sure what to say.
The mixed reviews come at a significant time for Buckley. She’s nominated and expected to win best lead actress at next Sunday’s Oscars. However, they shouldn’t harm her chances as Oscar voting concluded as of March 5th at 5p PST. Time will tell if the reviews affect The Bride! at the box office. It’s also up against Pixar’s new release this weekend, Hoppers, which is projected to make $88 million at the worldwide box office.
Leave a Comment