Just like the story from which the movie was based on, the film feels stitched together from wildly different parts.

Director Maggie Gyllenhaal has created a strange yet stylish reinvention of the Frankenstein myth that explores love, loneliness, feminism, and justice, among others.

In the movie, Frankenstein’s monster (Christian Bale) goes to Chicago in search of Dr. Euphronius (Anette Benning) to seek help. Lonely and in desperate need for intimacy, Frank wants the scientist to create a creature that would serve as his partner.

Initially reluctant, Dr. Euphronius finally relents. They dig up the corpse of a young woman who has fallen down a flight of stairs and “reinvigorated” her through a process that involves a dark elixir and lots of electric current.

Played with ferocious intensity by Jessie Buckley, the creature wakes with no recollection of her past but has the personality of a firecracker. Frank was instantly smitten. He names her Penelope.  

After a night out goes wrong—in a scene that’s not advised for those with weak stomachs—the two became fugitives and set out for a life on the run. It was something almost like Bonnie and Clyde, but not quite.

The Bride! is delightfully unpredictable.

It has some tonal shifts. But something in the way Gyllenhaal pieced everything together made it feel still coherent.

Instead of staying locked in its gothic horror roots, the film tears the lab doors open and runs straight into a completely different movie. It’s a love story, with Frank desperately longing for someone to care for. There are tender moments that make us forget they are undead.

And just when you think you already understand its rhythm, the movie throws in musical numbers with bursts of surreal imagery and dialogue that straddles between poetic and absurd.

There’s dancing and singing. Here, Frank’s a cinephile who is obsessed with a movie star named Ronnie Reed. He spends time in theaters where he sees himself in the musical scenes.

Then there’s violence. A lot of running from the cops. There’s even a mobster subplot. And a detective duo whose one-half seems to know more than he lets on.

Frank and Penelope (or Penny) wander across America as fugitives. But it doesn’t feel like they’re trying to evade the authorities because they’re having such a blast. They go to cinemas, crash parties, gather pennies from fountains. They were on a honeymoon.

There are moments when it will feel like the movie prioritized style over stability.

But it’s the electric style that gives the movie is confidence amid the chaos. It’s clear that Gyllenhaal isn’t interested in playing it safe. She treats the myth of Frankenstein less like sacred text but more like a sandbox.

The movie is visually rich. It’s oozing with personality. The makeup is impressive. The production design is superb. The costumes and props all blend well together to bring the setting to life.

The entire 1930s backdrop feels so alive. The gangster-era vibe is strong. There’s so much creativity not just in the story, but in the technical aspects as well.

But that creativity comes with a cost.

The creative choices in the story sometimes create a tonal shift that may feel like a faulty wire dancing around, creating sparks everywhere.

Scenes anchored in so much emotion can lead to and result in an outrageous spectacle. The scene where Frank and Penelope crash a Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal) party while dodging authorities was almost good. Frank’s touching interaction with his movie idol quickly turned ridiculous with the sudden dance trip that’s almost straight out of 13 Going on 30.

Then it jumps right back to serious mode where a gun-wielding Penelope delivers a monologue about empowerment.

Moments like that can rattle the viewing experience (at least for this viewer) but then maybe that’s the intent. Regardless, the scenes are affecting.

And that’s mainly because of an electrifying performance by Jessie Buckley. She plays the Bride of Frankenstein’s monster with such intensity which becomes even better when she plays off with Bale.

She’s bold and reckless. Her performance perfectly captures the essence of someone who’s unsure of how to make sense of the emotions going inside her: confusion, anger, curiosity, infatuation, fear, and retribution.

Buckley is just as brilliant as her performance in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet.

Christian Bale, meanwhile, plays Frankenstein’s monster with such tenderness it’s so hard to think of him as the notorious literary character we all grew up believing.

He plays the part with a quiet sadness that can be heard in the soft way he talks. Although covered in make-up, his expressions and gestures reek of desperation. He feels deeply human in this movie.

The two delivered such a strong performance they are literally the film’s driving force, which is great because hallway through the film, the quirkiness gets a bit weird. Some elements feel either contrived or they fell short (i.e. the whole subplot with the detectives). Then there’s the revolution that spawned out of Penny’s party-pooping.

While it looks like they were initially intended well, there just wasn’t enough time to fully explore them. And that can take away from clear storytelling. But then again, it’s quite easy to overlook because of how powerful the leads’ performances were.

The Bride! is now showing in cinemas.