Why We’re Falling in Love with “The Bride!”

Maggie Gyllenhaal is “interested in monstressness.”

Frankenstein’s monster and its appropriately eccentric creator, Mary Shelley, have captivated generations for over two centuries. From Boris Karloff’s seminal performance as Frankenstein’s monster in the 1931 Universal Pictures adaptation to Guillermo Del Toro’s stylistic 2025 retelling, filmmakers and actors across the ages have spun cinematic excellence out of this timeless Gothic horror. After Del Toro’s rendition, it seemed like there were no new twists on the Frankenstein saga. 

That was until Maggie Gyllenhaal asked the question that seems to have gone unanswered for centuries: “What about the Bride?” This inquiry led to “The Bride!” Released on March 6 in theaters, this Gothic romance reimagines Frankenstein and his mate’s love affair as a Bonnie and Clyde-esque pairing that rampages through 1930s Chicago. 

Fittingly, Frankenstein’s bride was born on the silver screen — Elsa Lanchester first brought her to life in iconic fashion in the 1935 sequel “Bride of Frankenstein”. While her character stands the test of time, Lanchester’s Bride was only on screen for three minutes, and did not speak a single line. 

Her limited screen time and enforced silence reflect the stringent gender roles of the era, positioning her as a passive creation rather than opening avenues for the character’s development. However, Gyllenhaal brings a fresh, feminist perspective to the character, centering female autonomy and transgression. 

Coulture had the opportunity to have a virtual discussion with writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal and the film’s two stars, Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, to learn about the writing process, costuming and all things Frankenstein’s Bride.

“Something about this character has captured our culture,” Gyllenhaal explained when asked about her attraction to a script about The Bride.

She had not previously seen  “Bride of Frankenstein”, and she thought Elsa Lanchester’s short-but-sweet appearances and minimal dialogue left a blank space in the timeless story that a Bride-centric movie could fill.

“What happens if you take that same format, that same story, but you give her a huge amount of agency, and give her a huge amount of need and intelligence and soulfulness and vulnerability and power?” Gyllenhaal explained. 

Gyllenhaal also intentionally integrated the story of novelist Mary Shelley into her rendition of the Bride. Shelley, who famously wrote the first edition novel at the age of 18, was known for being a deeply eccentric, intelligent and passionate character, and Gyllenhaal wanted her Bride to embody these characteristics. 

Jessie Buckley, who plays The Bride, brings an unforgettable flair to the character, with the Hollywood Reporter praising her “electric” and “fearless” performance, appropriate for the film’s early feminist backdrop. 

“How much of me, of my own monstrosity, of my too-muchness can you love?” Buckley said, reflecting on her experience. “It’s a wild, abandoned life force. It’s passion on the brink. It’s a revolution. It’s a new language! It’s giving voice to The Bride, who has never been given a voice before.”

Buckley also described the deep bond that formed between her and Gyllenhaal during production.

“Maggie Gyllenhaal is one of the most important women in my life,” Buckley said. “She has woken me up in a way that I didn’t think was possible in a lifetime. She’s an absolute artist at her core. She is fearless — even if she has fear, she walks towards it.”

Gyllenhaal, Buckley and costume designer Sandy Powell worked closely together in developing the look for The Bride. For Buckley, the Bride’s resulting curated yet unpolished aesthetic is a perfect representation of her originality. 

“It’s punk,” Buckley said. “From her very being, she’s somebody who is absolutely singular and has always created from a place that is not following the curve, but something that is totally her own, an expression that is her own.”

Christian Bale, who plays Frankenstein’s monster (also known as Frank), humanizes the archetypal monster. Frank may look like a beast, but his quest to find love mirrors the monster within all of us. 

“He’s going from someone who’s done enormous, terrible acts in his younger years because of a lack of understanding — abandoned by his father, nobody teaching him whatsoever, immense strength — to a point where when we meet him now. He comes to realize that he thought he was alive, but he was really just breathing,” Bale said.

One of the driving forces of the film is the wild and dramatic love story between Frank and The Bride —  one that mirrors Bonnie and Clyde’s whirlwind, unconventional romance.

“He meets The Bride, and he sees this is a different animal, but adores watching her because she’s so much more exciting than anything he ever could have fathomed,” Bale said. “He sees how dynamic she is and how full of life she is.”

Bale said the one-of-a-kind script made him want to test the bounds of such a familiar story, and starring in “The Bride!” was a great adventure of self-discovery. 

“This is a roller-coaster ride of a movie,” Bale said. “It’s about being a misfit and trying to figure out who the hell we are.”