🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 152 (from laksa122)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa152.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://mountaintimes.info/2026/03/11/the-bride-leaves-its-audience-at-the-altar/\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://mountaintimes.info/2026/03/11/the-bride-leaves-its-audience-at-the-altar/\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/2026\/03\/11\/the-bride-leaves-its-audience-at-the-altar\/","crawl_time":1776648308,"first_indexed_time":1773224868,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"info,mountaintimes!\/2026\/03\/11\/the-bride-leaves-its-audience-at-the-altar\/ s443","src_root_hash":"11059792892253770752","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"‘The Bride!’ Leaves Its Audience At The Altar | Mountain Times","meta_descriptions":["Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!”, a twisted take on “The Bride of Frankenstein”, never lacks ambition or creativity, but it is a jumbled affair that could use"],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!”, a twisted take on “The Bride of Frankenstein”, never lacks ambition or creativity, but it is a jumbled affair that could use a better screenplay to sort out all of its creators’ ideas.\nGyllenhaal, the actress of such films as “Crazy Heart,” “The Dark Knight,” and “Donnie Darko,” serves as writer\/director here in her sophomore film effort. Her first directorial effort, “The Lost Daughter,” was far more successful, and while “The Bride!” has plenty of shortcomings, it is never boring. The frame bursts with exciting imagery, from the sets and costumes to Lawrence Shur’s dazzling cinematography. Jessie Buckley’s “Bride,” decked out in a ratted platinum blond coiffe and ink-blot face stain (a chemical reaction from her character’s re-animation), is a live-wire misunderstood monster who is trying to understand her place in this mid-1930s Chicago, and her true identity. Buckley’s good here, although the screenplay lets her down. After an intriguing start, the plot isn’t sure where to go, and that’s when the bolts start to come off. \nBuckley is Ida, a gangster’s moll who, at the beginning of the movie, seems possessed, if not in body, but in the spirit of Mary Shelley. Shelley (also played by Buckley) narrates the story from beyond the grave, and Gyllenhaal’s decision probably seemed like a better idea on the page than in practice. It doesn’t work, at least not for me. We’ll learn more about Ida’s character, but not for a while, and perhaps too little, too late, but within the opening ten minutes of the movie, Ida is slapped around and knocked down a messy flight of stairs, and now she’s ready for her second act.\nCue Christian Bale’s Frankenstein’s monster. He’s been trolling around the world for a good hundred years, getting in and out of trouble, but looking for love. This lonely boy monster just wants a mate, and, I guess, after doing some bit of research, he winds up on the doorstep of a brilliant scientist, Dr. Corneilia Euphronius, played by Annette Bening, who happens to do what no other doctor since Dr. F can do: bring the dead back to life.\nWhy she agrees to make Bale’s monster a bride is a little murky, but at this stage of the proceedings, I was willing to play along. Before you can say, “This film makes no sense,” Bale and Euphronius are digging up Ida’s corpse and bringing her back to life as Bale’s hopefully faithful companion.\nBuckley’s “Bride,” who is called Penelope by Bale (who goes by Frank), is lied to about who she is. And for all of the feminist ideology Gyllenhaal tries to bake into her tale, the idea that Bening would have made Bale a female companion in the first place is problematic.\nA movie that touches on many of these same issues, but pulls it off far more successfully, is 2023’s “Poor Things.” I don’t like to compare one film to another, but it was hard not to see how much of a failure “The Bride!” is compared to a standout like “Poor Things.”\nIn this crazy mashup of a monster movie, Bale’s monster is obsessed with movies starring a matinee idol played by Gyllenhaal’s brother Jake. Why? I’m not sure, but it provides Gyllenhaal with more material to pay homage to or imitate film history, as well as several other, better “Frankenstein” movies. Yes, she even tropes “Young Frankenstein,” not once but twice. We get it quite clearly when Gyllenhaal has Bale’s Frank dance to “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and even shouting the line, much like Peter Boyle’s character in “Young Frankenstein.” But when later Buckley mispronounces “Frankenstein” the way Gene Wilder says it in the 1974 Mel Brooks classic, it’s groan-worthy.\nMuch of the second and third acts of this film find our mismatched pair of monster lovers on the run, and acting as a sort of “Bonnie & Clyde” duo of outlaws. It’s obvious, and it also doesn’t work, and that’s when the plot of this movie begins to take its toll on the audience. Even in 1936, a time when newspapers and radio were the social media of the day, it would be difficult not to spot this pair of troublemakers as they train hop and carjack their way across the country. I guess, in a fantasy movie, we’re not supposed to ask questions like, how does it work when they need to get gas?\nOnce in a while, the movie flashes back to Bening’s scientist character just long enough to remind the audience that she was even in the film at one point, and that she is likely to show up for the climax. And she does. Also, there is a side-plot with a detective played by Gyllenhaal’s husband, Peter Sarsgaard, and his assistant played by Penélope Cruz. They are cut from the same mold as those Cary Grant\/Rosalind Russell characters from such classic film fare as “His Girl Friday,” yet without all the brilliant rat-a-tat dialogue that made that film a legend.\nThere are scores of ideas going on in “The Bride!” and it almost comes close to the kind of campiness that would make a movie of this ilk a cult-classic midnight howler. But I say, almost, because like so much of this film, it falls short. Gyllenhaal throws everything and the kitchen sink at this movie, and not much sticks. It doesn’t know what type of film it wants to be, and neither does the audience. A lot of good intentions went into the making of this movie; it’s a shame the result isn’t better.\nBut when this movie hits streaming, and I’m betting it will be available sooner rather than later, perhaps you’ll find its bonkers energy appealing.\nI can’t recommend catching the bouquet on this one.\nJames Kent is the arts editor at The Mountain Times.","attrs_markdown":"[Skip to main content](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/2026\/03\/11\/the-bride-leaves-its-audience-at-the-altar\/#brx-content) [Skip to footer](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/2026\/03\/11\/the-bride-leaves-its-audience-at-the-altar\/#brx-footer)\n\n- [News](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/category\/local-news\/)\n  - [Local News](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/category\/local-news\/)[Killington Forward](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/killington\/tif\/)[Arts, Dining & Entertainment](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/category\/entertainment\/)[State 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Us](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/contact-us\/)\n\n![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20%20'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20%20'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\n[Home](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/) \/ [Columns](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/column\/) \/ [Screens and Streams](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/column\/screens-and-streams\/) \/ ‘The Bride!’ leaves its audience at the altar\n\n[![](https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bc36f4c98abc2c721b1957956898187e039b4571b3939263a93373bb7df861b9?s=150&d=mm&r=g)](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/author\/james-kent\/)\n\nBy [James Kent](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/author\/james-kent\/)\n\nOn March 11, 2026\n\n![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20%20'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\n[Arts, Dining & Entertainment](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/entertainment\/), [Columns](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/column\/), [Screens and Streams](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/column\/screens-and-streams\/)\n\n![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20%20'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nShare with Friends\n\n![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20%20'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nCopy 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and Streams](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/column\/screens-and-streams\/)\n\n# ‘The Bride!’ leaves its audience at the altar\n\n![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201200%20683'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nCourtesy Warner Bros. Pictures. By Niko Tavernise Pictured, l-r: Christian Bale as Frank and Jessie Buckley as The Bride in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “The Bride!”\n\nMaggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!”, a twisted take on “The Bride of Frankenstein”, never lacks ambition or creativity, but it is a jumbled affair that could use a better screenplay to sort out all of its creators’ ideas.\n\nGyllenhaal, the actress of such films as “Crazy Heart,” “The Dark Knight,” and “Donnie Darko,” serves as writer\/director here in her sophomore film effort. Her first directorial effort, “The Lost Daughter,” was far more successful, and while “The Bride!” has plenty of shortcomings, it is never boring. The frame bursts with exciting imagery, from the sets and costumes to Lawrence Shur’s dazzling cinematography. Jessie Buckley’s “Bride,” decked out in a ratted platinum blond coiffe and ink-blot face stain (a chemical reaction from her character’s re-animation), is a live-wire misunderstood monster who is trying to understand her place in this mid-1930s Chicago, and her true identity. Buckley’s good here, although the screenplay lets her down. After an intriguing start, the plot isn’t sure where to go, and that’s when the bolts start to come off.\n\nBuckley is Ida, a gangster’s moll who, at the beginning of the movie, seems possessed, if not in body, but in the spirit of Mary Shelley. Shelley (also played by Buckley) narrates the story from beyond the grave, and Gyllenhaal’s decision probably seemed like a better idea on the page than in practice. It doesn’t work, at least not for me. We’ll learn more about Ida’s character, but not for a while, and perhaps too little, too late, but within the opening ten minutes of the movie, Ida is slapped around and knocked down a messy flight of stairs, and now she’s ready for her second act.\n\nCue Christian Bale’s Frankenstein’s monster. He’s been trolling around the world for a good hundred years, getting in and out of trouble, but looking for love. This lonely boy monster just wants a mate, and, I guess, after doing some bit of research, he winds up on the doorstep of a brilliant scientist, Dr. Corneilia Euphronius, played by Annette Bening, who happens to do what no other doctor since Dr. F can do: bring the dead back to life.\n\nWhy she agrees to make Bale’s monster a bride is a little murky, but at this stage of the proceedings, I was willing to play along. Before you can say, “This film makes no sense,” Bale and Euphronius are digging up Ida’s corpse and bringing her back to life as Bale’s hopefully faithful companion.\n\nBuckley’s “Bride,” who is called Penelope by Bale (who goes by Frank), is lied to about who she is. And for all of the feminist ideology Gyllenhaal tries to bake into her tale, the idea that Bening would have made Bale a female companion in the first place is problematic.\n\nA movie that touches on many of these same issues, but pulls it off far more successfully, is 2023’s “Poor Things.” I don’t like to compare one film to another, but it was hard not to see how much of a failure “The Bride!” is compared to a standout like “Poor Things.”\n\nIn this crazy mashup of a monster movie, Bale’s monster is obsessed with movies starring a matinee idol played by Gyllenhaal’s brother Jake. Why? I’m not sure, but it provides Gyllenhaal with more material to pay homage to or imitate film history, as well as several other, better “Frankenstein” movies. Yes, she even tropes “Young Frankenstein,” not once but twice. We get it quite clearly when Gyllenhaal has Bale’s Frank dance to “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and even shouting the line, much like Peter Boyle’s character in “Young Frankenstein.” But when later Buckley mispronounces “Frankenstein” the way Gene Wilder says it in the 1974 Mel Brooks classic, it’s groan-worthy.\n\nMuch of the second and third acts of this film find our mismatched pair of monster lovers on the run, and acting as a sort of “Bonnie & Clyde” duo of outlaws. It’s obvious, and it also doesn’t work, and that’s when the plot of this movie begins to take its toll on the audience. Even in 1936, a time when newspapers and radio were the social media of the day, it would be difficult not to spot this pair of troublemakers as they train hop and carjack their way across the country. I guess, in a fantasy movie, we’re not supposed to ask questions like, how does it work when they need to get gas?\n\nOnce in a while, the movie flashes back to Bening’s scientist character just long enough to remind the audience that she was even in the film at one point, and that she is likely to show up for the climax. And she does. Also, there is a side-plot with a detective played by Gyllenhaal’s husband, Peter Sarsgaard, and his assistant played by Penélope Cruz. They are cut from the same mold as those Cary Grant\/Rosalind Russell characters from such classic film fare as “His Girl Friday,” yet without all the brilliant rat-a-tat dialogue that made that film a legend.\n\nThere are scores of ideas going on in “The Bride!” and it almost comes close to the kind of campiness that would make a movie of this ilk a cult-classic midnight howler. But I say, almost, because like so much of this film, it falls short. Gyllenhaal throws everything and the kitchen sink at this movie, and not much sticks. It doesn’t know what type of film it wants to be, and neither does the audience. A lot of good intentions went into the making of this movie; it’s a shame the result isn’t better.\n\nBut when this movie hits streaming, and I’m betting it will be available sooner rather than later, perhaps you’ll find its bonkers energy appealing.\n\nI can’t recommend catching the bouquet on this one.\n\n*James Kent is the arts editor at The Mountain Times.*\n\n## Do you want to submit feedback to the editor?\n[Send Us An Email\\!](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/contact-us\/)\n\n![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20%20'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\n## Mountain Times Newsletter\nReceive the weekly newsletter, which also includes top trending stories and what all the locals are talking about\\!\n\n[Subscribe Now](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/newsletter\/)\n\n![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201024%20219'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\n![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20%20'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\n## Donate to Mountain Times\nMake a one-time or monthly donation to Mountain Times via PayPal Giving Fund.\n\n[Donate Today](https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=6QFRWGWT7SJS6&source=url&ssrt=1713377383450)\n\n[![](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/wp-content\/banners\/rrmc-block-.jpg)](https:\/\/rrmccareers.hctsportals.com\/)\n\n## Latest Posts\n## [Choosing hope when it’s hardest](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/2026\/04\/15\/choosing-hope-when-its-hardest\/)\nApril 15, 2026\n\n## [Woodstock entrepreneur turns love of stuffed animals into sustainable business](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/2026\/04\/15\/woodstock-entrepreneur-turns-love-of-stuffed-animals-into-sustainable-business\/)\nApril 15, 2026\n\n## [Laurel Canyon Band revives CSNY sound in Randolph performance](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/2026\/04\/15\/laurel-canyon-band-revives-csny-sound\/)\nApril 15, 2026\n\n## [Women’s Club wine dinner to support local scholarships](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/2026\/04\/15\/womens-club-wine-dinner-to-support-local-scholarships\/)\nApril 15, 2026\n\n## [Rutland Regional to host advance directives education event](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/2026\/04\/15\/rutland-regional-to-host-advance-directives-education-event\/)\nApril 15, 2026\n\n[![](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/wp-content\/banners\/Long-Banner_Casella-2432x300_v02.jpg)](https:\/\/www.casella.com\/)\n\n## Related Posts\n![Cosmic Catalogue](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20768%20468'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\n[Cosmic catalogue](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/column\/cosmic-catalogue\/)\n\n## [Choosing hope when it’s hardest](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/2026\/04\/15\/choosing-hope-when-its-hardest\/)\nApril 15, 2026\n\nWhat do you do when it feels as though all hope is gone? If every effort you make feels as though it only yields a fraction of the results it once did, what do you do? Do you become apathetic and give up? Do you say it’s all too hard, so what’s the point? While…\n\n![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20768%20466'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\n[Living the Dream](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/column\/living-the-dream\/)\n\n## [Summer camp opens as winter still holds on](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/2026\/04\/15\/summer-camp-opens-as-winter-still-holds-on\/)\nApril 15, 2026\n\nThe text came early in the morning from a girlfriend who was headed to work. You could feel her joy coming through the phone as my own smile spread across my face. Even though we have a couple more months left on the frozen tundra that is Killington, this is always the moment of the…\n\n![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20768%201172'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\n[Looking Back](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/column\/looking-back\/)\n\n## [From East Creek to the fairways: Caddy life in 1930s Rutland](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/2026\/04\/15\/from-east-creek-to-the-fairways-caddy-life-in-1930s-rutland\/)\nApril 15, 2026\n\nWhile I was rearranging some shelves recently, I came across a Rutland Historical Quarterly that was written by the late John McDonough. John was married to my cousin, Loyola McDonough, who is also deceased. The quarterly is titled “Tales from the Caddy Shack: RCC Caddy Memoirs of 1930s.” I had forgotten the details of John’s…\n\n![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20768%20495'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\n[Movie Diary](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/column\/movie-diary\/)\n\n## [Mastering the day](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/2026\/04\/15\/mastering-the-day\/)\nApril 15, 2026\n\nMy father always said, “Sports are the best theater.” And I have to say, while I have seen some great movies and attended some wonderful theater productions, nothing compares to the drama and excitement of an intense sporting event. This past Sunday was the final round of the 90th playing of the Masters golf tournament…\n\n![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%202560%201280'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\n## Visit Our Location\n[![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20%20'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)5465 U.S. 4 Killington, VT 05751](https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/place\/Mountain+Times\/@43.6416767,-72.7674232,17.6z\/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x50d082943d58b230!8m2!3d43.6417212!4d-72.7675659)\n\n## Call Us Today\n[![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20%20'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)(802) 422-2399](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/2026\/03\/11\/the-bride-leaves-its-audience-at-the-altar\/)\n\n## Send Us Message\n[![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20%20'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\\[email protected\\]](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#0366676a776c71436e6c766d77626a6d776a6e66702d6a6d656c)\n\n## Send Us Mail\n![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20%20'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nPO Box 183  \nKillington, VT 05751\n\n## News\n## Discover\n## Advertise\n## About\n## Mountain Times Newsletter\nSign up to receive the weekly newsletter, which also includes top trending stories and what all the locals are talking about\\!\n\n© 2026 The Mountain Times, Outer Limits Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.\n\n•\n\n[Privacy Policy](https:\/\/mountaintimes.info\/privacy-policy\/)\n\nWebsite by: **[Group6](https:\/\/group6inc.com\/)**","attrs_readable_markdown":"Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!”, a twisted take on “The Bride of Frankenstein”, never lacks ambition or creativity, but it is a jumbled affair that could use a better screenplay to sort out all of its creators’ ideas.\n\nGyllenhaal, the actress of such films as “Crazy Heart,” “The Dark Knight,” and “Donnie Darko,” serves as writer\/director here in her sophomore film effort. Her first directorial effort, “The Lost Daughter,” was far more successful, and while “The Bride!” has plenty of shortcomings, it is never boring. The frame bursts with exciting imagery, from the sets and costumes to Lawrence Shur’s dazzling cinematography. Jessie Buckley’s “Bride,” decked out in a ratted platinum blond coiffe and ink-blot face stain (a chemical reaction from her character’s re-animation), is a live-wire misunderstood monster who is trying to understand her place in this mid-1930s Chicago, and her true identity. Buckley’s good here, although the screenplay lets her down. After an intriguing start, the plot isn’t sure where to go, and that’s when the bolts start to come off.\n\nBuckley is Ida, a gangster’s moll who, at the beginning of the movie, seems possessed, if not in body, but in the spirit of Mary Shelley. Shelley (also played by Buckley) narrates the story from beyond the grave, and Gyllenhaal’s decision probably seemed like a better idea on the page than in practice. It doesn’t work, at least not for me. We’ll learn more about Ida’s character, but not for a while, and perhaps too little, too late, but within the opening ten minutes of the movie, Ida is slapped around and knocked down a messy flight of stairs, and now she’s ready for her second act.\n\nCue Christian Bale’s Frankenstein’s monster. He’s been trolling around the world for a good hundred years, getting in and out of trouble, but looking for love. This lonely boy monster just wants a mate, and, I guess, after doing some bit of research, he winds up on the doorstep of a brilliant scientist, Dr. Corneilia Euphronius, played by Annette Bening, who happens to do what no other doctor since Dr. F can do: bring the dead back to life.\n\nWhy she agrees to make Bale’s monster a bride is a little murky, but at this stage of the proceedings, I was willing to play along. Before you can say, “This film makes no sense,” Bale and Euphronius are digging up Ida’s corpse and bringing her back to life as Bale’s hopefully faithful companion.\n\nBuckley’s “Bride,” who is called Penelope by Bale (who goes by Frank), is lied to about who she is. And for all of the feminist ideology Gyllenhaal tries to bake into her tale, the idea that Bening would have made Bale a female companion in the first place is problematic.\n\nA movie that touches on many of these same issues, but pulls it off far more successfully, is 2023’s “Poor Things.” I don’t like to compare one film to another, but it was hard not to see how much of a failure “The Bride!” is compared to a standout like “Poor Things.”\n\nIn this crazy mashup of a monster movie, Bale’s monster is obsessed with movies starring a matinee idol played by Gyllenhaal’s brother Jake. Why? I’m not sure, but it provides Gyllenhaal with more material to pay homage to or imitate film history, as well as several other, better “Frankenstein” movies. Yes, she even tropes “Young Frankenstein,” not once but twice. We get it quite clearly when Gyllenhaal has Bale’s Frank dance to “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and even shouting the line, much like Peter Boyle’s character in “Young Frankenstein.” But when later Buckley mispronounces “Frankenstein” the way Gene Wilder says it in the 1974 Mel Brooks classic, it’s groan-worthy.\n\nMuch of the second and third acts of this film find our mismatched pair of monster lovers on the run, and acting as a sort of “Bonnie & Clyde” duo of outlaws. It’s obvious, and it also doesn’t work, and that’s when the plot of this movie begins to take its toll on the audience. Even in 1936, a time when newspapers and radio were the social media of the day, it would be difficult not to spot this pair of troublemakers as they train hop and carjack their way across the country. I guess, in a fantasy movie, we’re not supposed to ask questions like, how does it work when they need to get gas?\n\nOnce in a while, the movie flashes back to Bening’s scientist character just long enough to remind the audience that she was even in the film at one point, and that she is likely to show up for the climax. And she does. Also, there is a side-plot with a detective played by Gyllenhaal’s husband, Peter Sarsgaard, and his assistant played by Penélope Cruz. They are cut from the same mold as those Cary Grant\/Rosalind Russell characters from such classic film fare as “His Girl Friday,” yet without all the brilliant rat-a-tat dialogue that made that film a legend.\n\nThere are scores of ideas going on in “The Bride!” and it almost comes close to the kind of campiness that would make a movie of this ilk a cult-classic midnight howler. But I say, almost, because like so much of this film, it falls short. Gyllenhaal throws everything and the kitchen sink at this movie, and not much sticks. It doesn’t know what type of film it wants to be, and neither does the audience. A lot of good intentions went into the making of this movie; it’s a shame the result isn’t better.\n\nBut when this movie hits streaming, and I’m betting it will be available sooner rather than later, perhaps you’ll find its bonkers energy appealing.\n\nI can’t recommend catching the bouquet on this one.\n\n*James Kent is the arts editor at The Mountain Times.*","meta_canonical":null}

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Meta Title	‘The Bride!’ Leaves Its Audience At The Altar \| Mountain Times
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Boilerpipe Text	Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!”, a twisted take on “The Bride of Frankenstein”, never lacks ambition or creativity, but it is a jumbled affair that could use a better screenplay to sort out all of its creators’ ideas. Gyllenhaal, the actress of such films as “Crazy Heart,” “The Dark Knight,” and “Donnie Darko,” serves as writer/director here in her sophomore film effort. Her first directorial effort, “The Lost Daughter,” was far more successful, and while “The Bride!” has plenty of shortcomings, it is never boring. The frame bursts with exciting imagery, from the sets and costumes to Lawrence Shur’s dazzling cinematography. Jessie Buckley’s “Bride,” decked out in a ratted platinum blond coiffe and ink-blot face stain (a chemical reaction from her character’s re-animation), is a live-wire misunderstood monster who is trying to understand her place in this mid-1930s Chicago, and her true identity. Buckley’s good here, although the screenplay lets her down. After an intriguing start, the plot isn’t sure where to go, and that’s when the bolts start to come off. Buckley is Ida, a gangster’s moll who, at the beginning of the movie, seems possessed, if not in body, but in the spirit of Mary Shelley. Shelley (also played by Buckley) narrates the story from beyond the grave, and Gyllenhaal’s decision probably seemed like a better idea on the page than in practice. It doesn’t work, at least not for me. We’ll learn more about Ida’s character, but not for a while, and perhaps too little, too late, but within the opening ten minutes of the movie, Ida is slapped around and knocked down a messy flight of stairs, and now she’s ready for her second act. Cue Christian Bale’s Frankenstein’s monster. He’s been trolling around the world for a good hundred years, getting in and out of trouble, but looking for love. This lonely boy monster just wants a mate, and, I guess, after doing some bit of research, he winds up on the doorstep of a brilliant scientist, Dr. Corneilia Euphronius, played by Annette Bening, who happens to do what no other doctor since Dr. F can do: bring the dead back to life. Why she agrees to make Bale’s monster a bride is a little murky, but at this stage of the proceedings, I was willing to play along. Before you can say, “This film makes no sense,” Bale and Euphronius are digging up Ida’s corpse and bringing her back to life as Bale’s hopefully faithful companion. Buckley’s “Bride,” who is called Penelope by Bale (who goes by Frank), is lied to about who she is. And for all of the feminist ideology Gyllenhaal tries to bake into her tale, the idea that Bening would have made Bale a female companion in the first place is problematic. A movie that touches on many of these same issues, but pulls it off far more successfully, is 2023’s “Poor Things.” I don’t like to compare one film to another, but it was hard not to see how much of a failure “The Bride!” is compared to a standout like “Poor Things.” In this crazy mashup of a monster movie, Bale’s monster is obsessed with movies starring a matinee idol played by Gyllenhaal’s brother Jake. Why? I’m not sure, but it provides Gyllenhaal with more material to pay homage to or imitate film history, as well as several other, better “Frankenstein” movies. Yes, she even tropes “Young Frankenstein,” not once but twice. We get it quite clearly when Gyllenhaal has Bale’s Frank dance to “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and even shouting the line, much like Peter Boyle’s character in “Young Frankenstein.” But when later Buckley mispronounces “Frankenstein” the way Gene Wilder says it in the 1974 Mel Brooks classic, it’s groan-worthy. Much of the second and third acts of this film find our mismatched pair of monster lovers on the run, and acting as a sort of “Bonnie & Clyde” duo of outlaws. It’s obvious, and it also doesn’t work, and that’s when the plot of this movie begins to take its toll on the audience. Even in 1936, a time when newspapers and radio were the social media of the day, it would be difficult not to spot this pair of troublemakers as they train hop and carjack their way across the country. I guess, in a fantasy movie, we’re not supposed to ask questions like, how does it work when they need to get gas? Once in a while, the movie flashes back to Bening’s scientist character just long enough to remind the audience that she was even in the film at one point, and that she is likely to show up for the climax. And she does. Also, there is a side-plot with a detective played by Gyllenhaal’s husband, Peter Sarsgaard, and his assistant played by Penélope Cruz. They are cut from the same mold as those Cary Grant/Rosalind Russell characters from such classic film fare as “His Girl Friday,” yet without all the brilliant rat-a-tat dialogue that made that film a legend. There are scores of ideas going on in “The Bride!” and it almost comes close to the kind of campiness that would make a movie of this ilk a cult-classic midnight howler. But I say, almost, because like so much of this film, it falls short. Gyllenhaal throws everything and the kitchen sink at this movie, and not much sticks. It doesn’t know what type of film it wants to be, and neither does the audience. A lot of good intentions went into the making of this movie; it’s a shame the result isn’t better. But when this movie hits streaming, and I’m betting it will be available sooner rather than later, perhaps you’ll find its bonkers energy appealing. I can’t recommend catching the bouquet on this one. James Kent is the arts editor at The Mountain Times.
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Pictures. By Niko Tavernise Pictured, l-r: Christian Bale as Frank and Jessie Buckley as The Bride in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “The Bride!” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!”, a twisted take on “The Bride of Frankenstein”, never lacks ambition or creativity, but it is a jumbled affair that could use a better screenplay to sort out all of its creators’ ideas. Gyllenhaal, the actress of such films as “Crazy Heart,” “The Dark Knight,” and “Donnie Darko,” serves as writer/director here in her sophomore film effort. Her first directorial effort, “The Lost Daughter,” was far more successful, and while “The Bride!” has plenty of shortcomings, it is never boring. The frame bursts with exciting imagery, from the sets and costumes to Lawrence Shur’s dazzling cinematography. Jessie Buckley’s “Bride,” decked out in a ratted platinum blond coiffe and ink-blot face stain (a chemical reaction from her character’s re-animation), is a live-wire misunderstood monster who is trying to understand her place in this mid-1930s Chicago, and her true identity. Buckley’s good here, although the screenplay lets her down. After an intriguing start, the plot isn’t sure where to go, and that’s when the bolts start to come off. Buckley is Ida, a gangster’s moll who, at the beginning of the movie, seems possessed, if not in body, but in the spirit of Mary Shelley. Shelley (also played by Buckley) narrates the story from beyond the grave, and Gyllenhaal’s decision probably seemed like a better idea on the page than in practice. It doesn’t work, at least not for me. We’ll learn more about Ida’s character, but not for a while, and perhaps too little, too late, but within the opening ten minutes of the movie, Ida is slapped around and knocked down a messy flight of stairs, and now she’s ready for her second act. Cue Christian Bale’s Frankenstein’s monster. He’s been trolling around the world for a good hundred years, getting in and out of trouble, but looking for love. This lonely boy monster just wants a mate, and, I guess, after doing some bit of research, he winds up on the doorstep of a brilliant scientist, Dr. Corneilia Euphronius, played by Annette Bening, who happens to do what no other doctor since Dr. F can do: bring the dead back to life. Why she agrees to make Bale’s monster a bride is a little murky, but at this stage of the proceedings, I was willing to play along. Before you can say, “This film makes no sense,” Bale and Euphronius are digging up Ida’s corpse and bringing her back to life as Bale’s hopefully faithful companion. Buckley’s “Bride,” who is called Penelope by Bale (who goes by Frank), is lied to about who she is. And for all of the feminist ideology Gyllenhaal tries to bake into her tale, the idea that Bening would have made Bale a female companion in the first place is problematic. A movie that touches on many of these same issues, but pulls it off far more successfully, is 2023’s “Poor Things.” I don’t like to compare one film to another, but it was hard not to see how much of a failure “The Bride!” is compared to a standout like “Poor Things.” In this crazy mashup of a monster movie, Bale’s monster is obsessed with movies starring a matinee idol played by Gyllenhaal’s brother Jake. Why? I’m not sure, but it provides Gyllenhaal with more material to pay homage to or imitate film history, as well as several other, better “Frankenstein” movies. Yes, she even tropes “Young Frankenstein,” not once but twice. We get it quite clearly when Gyllenhaal has Bale’s Frank dance to “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and even shouting the line, much like Peter Boyle’s character in “Young Frankenstein.” But when later Buckley mispronounces “Frankenstein” the way Gene Wilder says it in the 1974 Mel Brooks classic, it’s groan-worthy. Much of the second and third acts of this film find our mismatched pair of monster lovers on the run, and acting as a sort of “Bonnie & Clyde” duo of outlaws. It’s obvious, and it also doesn’t work, and that’s when the plot of this movie begins to take its toll on the audience. Even in 1936, a time when newspapers and radio were the social media of the day, it would be difficult not to spot this pair of troublemakers as they train hop and carjack their way across the country. I guess, in a fantasy movie, we’re not supposed to ask questions like, how does it work when they need to get gas? Once in a while, the movie flashes back to Bening’s scientist character just long enough to remind the audience that she was even in the film at one point, and that she is likely to show up for the climax. And she does. Also, there is a side-plot with a detective played by Gyllenhaal’s husband, Peter Sarsgaard, and his assistant played by Penélope Cruz. They are cut from the same mold as those Cary Grant/Rosalind Russell characters from such classic film fare as “His Girl Friday,” yet without all the brilliant rat-a-tat dialogue that made that film a legend. There are scores of ideas going on in “The Bride!” and it almost comes close to the kind of campiness that would make a movie of this ilk a cult-classic midnight howler. But I say, almost, because like so much of this film, it falls short. Gyllenhaal throws everything and the kitchen sink at this movie, and not much sticks. It doesn’t know what type of film it wants to be, and neither does the audience. A lot of good intentions went into the making of this movie; it’s a shame the result isn’t better. But when this movie hits streaming, and I’m betting it will be available sooner rather than later, perhaps you’ll find its bonkers energy appealing. I can’t recommend catching the bouquet on this one. James Kent is the arts editor at The Mountain Times. ## Do you want to submit feedback to the editor? [Send Us An Email\!](https://mountaintimes.info/contact-us/) ![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20%20'%3E%3C/svg%3E) ## Mountain Times Newsletter Receive the weekly newsletter, which also includes top trending stories and what all the locals are talking about\! 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Readable Markdown	Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!”, a twisted take on “The Bride of Frankenstein”, never lacks ambition or creativity, but it is a jumbled affair that could use a better screenplay to sort out all of its creators’ ideas. Gyllenhaal, the actress of such films as “Crazy Heart,” “The Dark Knight,” and “Donnie Darko,” serves as writer/director here in her sophomore film effort. Her first directorial effort, “The Lost Daughter,” was far more successful, and while “The Bride!” has plenty of shortcomings, it is never boring. The frame bursts with exciting imagery, from the sets and costumes to Lawrence Shur’s dazzling cinematography. Jessie Buckley’s “Bride,” decked out in a ratted platinum blond coiffe and ink-blot face stain (a chemical reaction from her character’s re-animation), is a live-wire misunderstood monster who is trying to understand her place in this mid-1930s Chicago, and her true identity. Buckley’s good here, although the screenplay lets her down. After an intriguing start, the plot isn’t sure where to go, and that’s when the bolts start to come off. Buckley is Ida, a gangster’s moll who, at the beginning of the movie, seems possessed, if not in body, but in the spirit of Mary Shelley. Shelley (also played by Buckley) narrates the story from beyond the grave, and Gyllenhaal’s decision probably seemed like a better idea on the page than in practice. It doesn’t work, at least not for me. We’ll learn more about Ida’s character, but not for a while, and perhaps too little, too late, but within the opening ten minutes of the movie, Ida is slapped around and knocked down a messy flight of stairs, and now she’s ready for her second act. Cue Christian Bale’s Frankenstein’s monster. He’s been trolling around the world for a good hundred years, getting in and out of trouble, but looking for love. This lonely boy monster just wants a mate, and, I guess, after doing some bit of research, he winds up on the doorstep of a brilliant scientist, Dr. Corneilia Euphronius, played by Annette Bening, who happens to do what no other doctor since Dr. F can do: bring the dead back to life. Why she agrees to make Bale’s monster a bride is a little murky, but at this stage of the proceedings, I was willing to play along. Before you can say, “This film makes no sense,” Bale and Euphronius are digging up Ida’s corpse and bringing her back to life as Bale’s hopefully faithful companion. Buckley’s “Bride,” who is called Penelope by Bale (who goes by Frank), is lied to about who she is. And for all of the feminist ideology Gyllenhaal tries to bake into her tale, the idea that Bening would have made Bale a female companion in the first place is problematic. A movie that touches on many of these same issues, but pulls it off far more successfully, is 2023’s “Poor Things.” I don’t like to compare one film to another, but it was hard not to see how much of a failure “The Bride!” is compared to a standout like “Poor Things.” In this crazy mashup of a monster movie, Bale’s monster is obsessed with movies starring a matinee idol played by Gyllenhaal’s brother Jake. Why? I’m not sure, but it provides Gyllenhaal with more material to pay homage to or imitate film history, as well as several other, better “Frankenstein” movies. Yes, she even tropes “Young Frankenstein,” not once but twice. We get it quite clearly when Gyllenhaal has Bale’s Frank dance to “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and even shouting the line, much like Peter Boyle’s character in “Young Frankenstein.” But when later Buckley mispronounces “Frankenstein” the way Gene Wilder says it in the 1974 Mel Brooks classic, it’s groan-worthy. Much of the second and third acts of this film find our mismatched pair of monster lovers on the run, and acting as a sort of “Bonnie & Clyde” duo of outlaws. It’s obvious, and it also doesn’t work, and that’s when the plot of this movie begins to take its toll on the audience. Even in 1936, a time when newspapers and radio were the social media of the day, it would be difficult not to spot this pair of troublemakers as they train hop and carjack their way across the country. I guess, in a fantasy movie, we’re not supposed to ask questions like, how does it work when they need to get gas? Once in a while, the movie flashes back to Bening’s scientist character just long enough to remind the audience that she was even in the film at one point, and that she is likely to show up for the climax. And she does. Also, there is a side-plot with a detective played by Gyllenhaal’s husband, Peter Sarsgaard, and his assistant played by Penélope Cruz. They are cut from the same mold as those Cary Grant/Rosalind Russell characters from such classic film fare as “His Girl Friday,” yet without all the brilliant rat-a-tat dialogue that made that film a legend. There are scores of ideas going on in “The Bride!” and it almost comes close to the kind of campiness that would make a movie of this ilk a cult-classic midnight howler. But I say, almost, because like so much of this film, it falls short. Gyllenhaal throws everything and the kitchen sink at this movie, and not much sticks. It doesn’t know what type of film it wants to be, and neither does the audience. A lot of good intentions went into the making of this movie; it’s a shame the result isn’t better. But when this movie hits streaming, and I’m betting it will be available sooner rather than later, perhaps you’ll find its bonkers energy appealing. I can’t recommend catching the bouquet on this one. James Kent is the arts editor at The Mountain Times.
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