Director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s bizarre experimentation on the Frankenstein canon was a box office nuclear bomb and now looks for a cult following through the 4K disc release of The Bride! (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, rated R, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, 126 minutes, $29.95).
Beginning in 1930s Chicago, the story introduces gun moll Ida (Jessie Buckley), oddly possessed by author Mary Shelley (the creator of “Frankenstein“) and summarily killed by the henchmen of a crime boss for her too-accurate ramblings about his criminal activity.
Meanwhile, Frankenstein’s monster arrives in town to meet with Dr. Cornelia Euphronious (Annette Bening), looking for her help in creating a bride to satisfy his romantic needs and quell his loneliness.
His wish is fulfilled when they dig up Ida and jolt her back to life.
She has memory loss but is still saddled with the alter presence of Shelley. After Frank kills two thugs defending Ida, and she kills a cop, the pair find love and flee to New York, transforming into a monstrous version of Bonnie and Clyde.
Viewers ultimately watch two Academy Award-winning actors get to play within the sandbox of a $90 million student art film that succeeds when focused on the chemistry between the actors and their dangerous relationship.
However, adding the layer of the Shelley possession, introducing two flatfoots with their baggage in pursuit of the killers (Peter Sarsgaard and the ageless Penelope Cruz) and a few too many dance numbers (viewers will appreciate a “Puttin’ on the Ritz” homage to “Young Frankenstein“) really overwhelms the narrative.
Now add a layer of feminist ideology shamelessly pounding viewers over the head, and the final result is a muddled miscue of what could have been a thrilling character study into a quirky yet pop-culturally epic romance.
For those in need of an inventive retelling of the “Frankenstein” legend, I highly suggest checking out Emma Stone’s Academy Award-winning performance in “Poor Things.”
4K in action: Despite the story, the ultrahigh definition format brilliantly spotlights the visually stunning cinematography of Lawrence Sher.
In addition to many visual opportunities afforded by a film packed with period costuming, props and vehicles, viewers are taken into ornate ballrooms and dance clubs for a wide range of textured and robust environments.
The scenes take advantage of bursts of neon colors through vintage signage and bloody confrontations, as well as when Ida dances under flashes of colors as easily as offering shadowy noir moments in back alleys or sharp clarity when viewing Frank and the Bride in occasional black-and-white moments.
Best extras: Viewers get four featurettes (averaging 7 minutes each) offering an overview of the production, creating Frank and the Bride; an explanation of the main characters’ motivations; and a look at the secondary cast and their characters.
An interesting theme running through pieces of the featurettes finds Ms. Buckley, Ms. Gyllenhaal and Mr. Bale sitting around a table and inordinately enthusiastic while talking to each other about the film.
Although I really needed an optional commentary track with the director to explain her motivations for what I just saw.
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