The Bride! is now available on streaming, and here's why you should give it a watch

Christian Bale as Frank and Jessie Buckley as Ida/The Bride - Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride! was a box office disappointment. By the end of its run, it grossed about $24 million worldwide against a budget of reportedly $80-90 million. Yet now that the movie is available on HBO Max and VOD, there's potential that the film will find its audience.

When I first saw the feature, I had slightly mixed feelings about it, especially as someone who has taught Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and its various movie adaptations more times than I can count. Yet, in the roughly two months since The Bride! debuted in theaters, I've thought about it a lot and have warmed up to it quite a bit.

The film may have its flaws, but you have to give Gyllenhaal credit for a bold vision. Here's why the movie is worth checking out, now that it's on streaming.

The Bride! reimagines the Frankenstein story and gives voice to a female monster

Set in 1930s Chicago, The Bride! does something radically different than the previous Frankenstein retellings. It centers the female monster. This is her story. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein never creates a mate for his monster, even though the creature promises to leave him alone if he does so. The scientist fears if he creates a bride, she'll be murderous and she and the creature will have devilish offsprings. In James Whale's iconic Bride of Frankenstein, Elsa Lanchester is only in the movie for a few minutes, both as Mary Shelly in the beginning of the movie and the Bride in the last few minutes. While Boris Karloff is great as the Monster, and gives him even more humanity in Whale's sequel, what we remember most is Lanchester's performance as the Bride.

With Gyllenhaal's movie, we finally have a reimagining that centers the female perspective. In this case, the Bride is named Ida, played by Jessie Buckley. In the opening minutes, she's murdered by the mob for refusing sexual advances. When the Monster (Christian Bale) approaches Dr. Euphronious (Annette Bening) about making him a mate, she first dismisses him, but she ultimately agrees to it, and hence, they dig up and resurrect Ida.

The rest of the move is about Ida discovering her name. Buckley also plays Mary Shelley, who possesses Ida as a means to tell a new story, this one about the Bride, and to give Ida agency. At one point, the famed author says, "Find your name, girl," and thus, the movie really becomes about that and Ida/the Bride taking ownership and pride in her self-worth.

Additionally, Gyllenhaal centers female agency in other ways. We have a female scientist in Dr. Euphronious and also a female detective, Myrna Malloy (Penelope Cruz), who fights against an all-make workforce when she investigates the monsters, who eventually murder and flee. Yet, it's clear that Myrna can handle a crime scene and hold her own, and eventually the others on the scene, including her work partner, detective Jake Wiles (Peter Sarsgaard), realize that.

The Bride! is a movie about weirdos finding each other

Part of the reason Whale's Bride of Frankenstein resonates so much is because the Monster's loneliness is relatable, especially when he holds his hands out to his would-be companion and says, "friend," with a hopeful smile. Yet, she laughs in his face and then screams. In this version, the Bride and the Monster, also known as Frank in the film, love each other. They're outcasts and weirdos.

The movie has a punk rock spirit to it that will likely resonate with outcasts and misfits, especially the scenes of the monsters watching old movies together, getting tattooed, and dashing off from one city to the next. Simply put, they match each other's energy, to the point they're willing to kill for each other to evade the mob and pitchforks, stemming from a society that simply doesn't understand them.

The Bride! takes bold swings and has some bonkers moments

There's a moment near the halfway point in the film where Frank meets his movie idol, Ronnie Reed, a true song and dance man on the silver screen. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the role really well. But when Frank meets Ronnie at a swanky party, Ronnie dismisses him and laughs at him. Because Frank had no other friends until meeting his companion, he turned to movies. Ronnie meant everything to him. It again underscores the loneliness that comes with being an outcast, and it's a powerful moment, but what happens next is even better.

Frank and Ida suddenly break into "Putting on the Ritz." It's a really wild dance sequence set in the middle of the movie. It's mesmerizing to watch, no matter how strange it is, and it's proof that this is a movie willing to take some wild freakin' swings. The scene ends with the police showing up, but not before Ida gives a speech about honoring the dead and giving women a voice who were murdered by the mob. There are plenty of other strange and wonderful moments like this throughout the movie. Maybe they don't all quite work (I still think the Mary Shelley possession angle is a bit clunky), but they're still bold choices.

If you dismissed The Bride! because of tepid reviews or didn't get a chance to see it in the theater, consider giving it a watch now. It's unlike any Frankenstein story that we've seen thus far. It has style and punk rock energy, all while centering the female monster. It's also a movie about weirdos for the weirdos.

The Bride! is now streaming on HBO Max and available on VOD, too.

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