Frankenstein is a classic story by Mary Shelley that everyone recognizes, but not everyone knows the story of Frankenstein’s monster’s companion, the Bride. Frankenstein has had many adaptations in the past 200 years, including the tale of the Bride, but most of these adaptations further the story of Frankenstein’s monster, using the Bride’s character as lore in a way. Maggie Gyllenhaal has created a proper story for the monster’s companion with the divisive film, “The Bride!”

Gyllenhaal’s interpretation of the Bride’s story focuses on independence and female empowerment. It tells the story of how the bride (Jessie Buckley) came to be, her life before her death and the life she lives after being reinvigorated by Frankenstein’s monster (Christian Bale), who goes by Frankenstein in this adaptation.  

Gyllenhaal’s motivation behind this movie was to give a voice to an iconic character no one has really heard from before. In the original 1935 “The Bride of Frankenstein” movie, Frankenstein’s Bride has less than 10 minutes of screen time. Gyllenhaal gives an inspiring backstory to an otherwise unknown character.

Buckley and Bale create an interesting chemistry, depicting a weird and even codependent relationship that is mesmerizing. Bale, being a seasoned actor with decades of experience, fortunately doesn’t outshine Buckley, an actress who is new to the spotlight and has just won her first Oscar for her role in “Hamnet.” 

The reviews for “The Bride!” have been mixed, some have heavily criticized the movie for being too weird, while others have enjoyed this movie whole-heartedly. The film was energetic, random and feminism focused, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I would one hundred percent recommend this movie. 

Gyllenhaal creates a symbol of empowerment for women through “The Bride.” Being similar to hyper-masculine movies like “American Psycho,” “The Joker” and “Fight Club,” “The Bride” is a movie about strong femininity and provides a figurative voice for an overlooked perspective in the movie industry.