The Bride!

The Bride! might well remind you most of Joker: Folie à Deux, for good and for ill.

Here comes an immensely well-advertised, big budget, interestingly wacky auteur-driven quasi-franchise IP that sits apart from other Blockbusters.

However, it is also going to be hugely divisive, equally liked and reviled and is altogether head-scratching in every possible way.

It’s punk rock but perhaps not quite as deliberately provocative as that Joker sequel but it’s hard to articulate thoughts on this one, there’s just so much going on at the same time.

It’s almost shocking how well made the thing is when considering the huge flaws at script and story level. This isn’t a well thought out idea haphazardly made. It’s instead what appears to be a not-quite-finished screenplay turned to visual excellence.

So, what do we actually have here? Set aside from any Frankenstein film and not quite a remake of The Bride of Frankenstein, this take is moved to 1930’s America in all its retro razzle-dazzle.

Frankenstein is still knocking about and with the help of another scientist, resurrects our titular bride Ida, who may have been acting informant against a Chicago mob boss when she died.

There isn’t really a whole lot of story here or clear throughline. They sort of go on some sort of cross-country crime spree, influencing others whilst doing so, in a clear nod to Bonnie & Clyde.

That spree seems to be inspired by The Bride inhabiting the actual Mary Shelley's personality whilst she's trapped in some sort of purgatorial space. She seems to be all seeing and calls out crimes committed by men against women.

This is a great idea, with Shelley's appearances in black and white being highlights of the film, but isn't quite properly explained, thought out, followed through or really resolved in any sort of logical way for a mass-appeal film like this.

Everything just seems to be hanging together by a thread at all times. Oftentimes, the dialogue seems borderline improv’d and clear plot information is pretty scarce.

Having said that, it doesn’t necessarily feel like scenes have been omitted. It’s over two hours and there are some nice character details, just not very well sign posted.

So, more than anything else, it’s an exercise in style. In that, it more than delivers.

There are soon-to-be iconic shots, scenes and visuals. The Bride will surely inspire Halloween outfits to come and it’s often an eye-bathing spectacle of deliciousness.

Unfortunately, that style doesn’t quite make up for the plot’s failings for the most part. You’re left with the feeling that this could, and should, have been better.

It’s messaging doesn’t quite stick. The pieces are there and the feminist theme is clear and well meaning but it doesn’t choose one avenue to pursue clearly enough.

The Bride desires to discover her own name and forge her own path, yet sticks by Frankenstein. Mob boss Lupino has one excellently menacing scene but [spoiler alert] doesn't come face-to-face with our leading pair.

It also doesn’t really work as a ‘Frankenstein’ film either. Perhaps it would have worked better as a standalone piece or maybe even a Harley Quinn film.

There’s no doubt though that this will find its audience. Perhaps it’ll be smaller than it expected but this is a future cult classic. I mean the dancing scenes (yes, really) are excellent and you can apply meaning however you want. Its many references are uniformly well done too.

Ultimately, The Bride! is much like its leading pair: captivating, intriguing, interesting, well-designed but fundamentally stitched together from a lot of disparate parts and always on the cusp of falling apart.

Electrifying or shocking? You decide.

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