Remakes seem to offer a better interpretation than originals, and therein lies the potential for trivialization that haunts Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” For those who can dig through the jumble of classic films and screen the 1935 rendering of “The Bride of Frankenstein” will detect the springboard concept for the current offering, but in true Olympic diving fashion, having one foot off the board when making a final leap leads to a spectacular crash into an unforgiving pool.
There are enough sub-pots in “The Bride!” that there are moments when the cry of 20th Century ballpark vendors –“You can’t tell the players without a program” — rings true. Peter Sarsgaard and Penelope Cruz try to keep up with the criminal antics of Frankenstein (Christian Bale … who must have spent countless hours in make-up each day) and his “bride,” the incredible Jessie Buckley. The ragged development of their characters seem more like a failed re-make of Mack Sennett’s “Keystone Kops” films than a true pursuit. Add in John Magaro as the bumbling hit man in the employ of a despotic Chicago crime boss (Zlatko Buric as “lupino’) and Jake Gyllenhaal as an ephemeral song and dance film star and the mix often becomes mash.
The storyline is quite simple. Frankenstein wants a wife, so he appears at the laboratory of Dr. Euphronious (Annette Bening) who obliges by re-animating the recently dead “Ida.” We don’t discover her name until late in the film. The newly minted couple begin a violent crime spree interrupted by dance routines, flashback episodes in movie theatres, car chases, tender moments that edge precariously close to love, intellectual struggles with the true meaning of life and … we won’t ruin the ending for you. Remember “Bonnie and Clyde?” Enough said.
In sincerity, the entire point of seeing “The Bride!” is the performance of Jessie Buckley. She is nothing short of amazing in this layered performance … a tour de force that is 180 degrees from her triumphant, Oscar nominated portrayal of Agnes in “Hamnet.” Were we a member of the Motion Picture Academy, the contrast and the depth of these two roles would be enough for a second round of nominations. Buckley is all consuming as The Bride. She single-handedly takes the film from “We’ve got nothing else to do, so let’s go to the movies” to “We’ve got to see this!”
In closing (much to your relief) there were two moments in “The Bride!” when the response to what was happening on the screen was to simply shake the head and wait for the credits. At one point, Jessie Buckley is engaged in a brilliant, forceful rant about the women who had been severely abused and killed by the disgusting crime boss Lupino and she punctuates the recitation of their names with “Me too! Me too!” We get it. We agree … but didn’t need to be hit over the head with it.
And, the final head-scratcher. As the film ends, we are treated to a full volume scoring of Bobby Pickett’s 1962 novelty hit, “Monster Mash.” Really?
Make sure you don’t step in the spilled soda mixed with popcorn as you exit the theatre.