Jessie Buckley's New Horror Movie Would Be Even Better If It Were A Different Genre

Of the many underrated actors who make every movie they appear in better, Jessie Buckley is perhaps the most famous today, gradually finding the spotlight like never before due to her successful awards season run for her performance in Hamnet. With extensive experience in theater, the actress is truly a professional thespian, capable of making any role memorable and compelling.

Hamnet's Oscar chances hinge heavily on Buckley, alongside Paul Mescal, both of whom have arguably delivered their career-best performances in the movie. However, Buckley is also currently gaining more popularity because of her latest movie's theatrical run that began two weeks ago, where she stars opposite Christian Bale as Frankenstein's bride. Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Bride! is making headlines.

While the performances by Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale have been praised, The Bride!'s Rotten Tomatoes score proves that the movie has divided critics. While the film's subject matter and unique treatment make it obvious why everyone doesn't love it, its themes could probably have been explored even better if the film were still gory but an entirely different genre.

The Bride! Is A Loud And Theatrical Horror Movie

The first thing you notice about The Bride! is its gorgeous and grand production design and carefully blocked cinematography. The staging in every scene is meticulous, almost like in a stage production. The next thing that catches your attention is that The Bride! doesn't adhere to typical cinematic storytelling conventions, almost threatening to break the fourth wall at every point.

As reviews of The Bride! have pointed out, it is an unashamed feminist film that lets its director and the titular protagonist express their anger at the status quo almost without any filter. The film doesn't restrain itself when exploring the violent nature of society and how it makes the Bride and the quiet Frankenstein lose their calm.

However, The Bride! would benefit from a less contained genre than sci-fi or horror. These genres aren't restrictive per se, but rejecting any typical storytelling styles works better with other more whimsical genres, especially if the intention is to still simultaneously be angsty. I kept thinking how much more empowering and impactful The Bride! would be as a Broadway production.

The Movie's Mood Would Suit A Musical More

The striking similarities with large-scale theater productions then made me realize that the screenplay of The Bride! is ideal for a musical. The musical is one of the most open genres in cinema, where experimental storytelling thrives. The best musical movies we can't live without blend elements of cinematic storytelling with grand aspects that we associate more with the theater.

Directly addressing the audience, trotting from setpiece to setpiece with a pep in your step even as your world starts collapsing, turning violence into spectacle that's visually stunning and morally complicated, and keeping all focus on the performances throughout are all easier to do in a musical. The Bride's enthusiastic and angry disposition also makes her the ideal musical protagonist.

Jessie Buckley's Performance Would Be Fitting For A Musical

The 2020s have been about great versatile performances for Jessie Buckley, but one element of her acting seems to be universal to all the characters she portrays. She brings to every movie a distinctly composed but engrossing texture that comes specifically with working in the theater. She's immersed, but her body language and dialogue delivery seem aware of an audience.

The Bride! features one of Buckley's most evocative performances yet, where she balances three different characters, each of whom has a reason to be at odds with the modern world. While she performs in the film, she seems to be performing at viewers. If the intention was to have Jessie Buckley's performance stand out, though, The Bride! executes that perfectly.

The Bride! Struggles To Embrace Its Humor

The biggest reason why every critic and viewer hasn't been impressed by Maggie Gyllenhaal's new movie is its tone. It tries to be sarcastic and sincere simultaneously, using dry wit to comment on casual sexism and sincere anger to create what feels like a modern feminist manifesto at times. Frankenstein and the Bride's romance, instead, is out of a romcom.

Jessie Buckley has compared playing three characters to jazz, and this strongly indicates that the movie would work better as a musical. The juggling of tones is achieved seamlessly by a musical because the mood of every song can naturally be different. Moving from romcom to witty satire to dark sci-fi to political drama would be smooth in a musical.

The Horror Makes The Movie's Message More Confusing

The titular protagonist of The Bride! is one of the best female horror movie monsters, whose call to action can be felt despite her story being set in a bygone era. However, her portrayal as a horror movie monster makes her less sympathetic, even if she's the victim throughout. Her violent nature isn't intentional, but her actions aren't all justifiable.

In a musical, where contemplation can be made a more literal theme through reflective songs, her character's perspective would have been communicated even better. The movie's feminist potential would have been realized with more resounding success if The Bride! had been a musical that won viewers over before hitting them hard.