The Bride

A beautiful movie! It was really quite lusciously filmed, where everything - the set designs, the costumes, outdoor locations, and luscious depiction of an early 18th century Transylvania setting – are absolutely top-notch, and give the film an almost magical sort of quality. This is "must see" film making.

The movie basically deals with the lives and fates of two living creations of Dr. Frankenstein (played by Sting): one, Viktor, (whom you might think of as "Frankenstein's Monster") is a big scary guy. The other, Eva (played by Jennifer Beals), is a beautiful young woman. Both have been created from spare body parts, and then brought to life by Dr. Frankenstein in the laboratory. There is a storm and a fire, the tower in which the laboratory is housed is destroyed, and Viktor escapes to fend for himself out in the countryside of Transylvania. Eva is taken care of by Dr. Frankenstein who, along with others in the castle, helps to educate the helpless young woman.

That, essentially, is the setting for the movie, and it is told in a surprisingly effective "dual tales" sort of technique. In one story, we watch as Viktor goes out on his own, and meets up with Rinaldo, a sly but very lovable midget (played by David Rappaport). Rinaldo convinces Viktor that the two of them would make a good living by going off to join the circus, and so off they go, getting involved in a couple of amusing scrapes along the way. Eventually they do indeed end up with the circus, where both are mercilessly exploited by the circus entrepreneurs Magar and Bela (played by Alexei Sayles and Phil Daniels).

Meanwhile, back at the castle... We watch how Eva is carefully groomed and schooled in the finest European fashion, and meticulously transformed, Eliza Doolittle-style, into quite the proper upper class young lady.

The movie carefully, and with nicely-timed pacing, switches back and forth between these two stories, and these stories prove to be very enjoyable watching.

I didn't find it distracting whatsoever to see Sting playing Dr. Frankenstein. Sure, they could have found a different and arguably better actor to play the good (?) doctor, but at the time this movie was made (1985) Sting was "the Man" – you know, the dude with the star-power name who could pull in the teenagers. And probably the same could be said for Jennifer Beals, who was still riding high from her recent fame in 1983's Flashdance. They need to fill those seats in the theaters, folks! No, they aren't that bad: don't let that deter you from seeing the movie. (And if you are a Sting fan or a Jennifer Beals fan (and we know how painful THAT can be) then you will be even more delighted with this film).

Oh yes, I said in the summary bar above that this is also a thought-provoking story. Well, basically, both Viktor and Eva are subjected to varying degrees of exploitation by their "benefactors," and one can't help but feel that the movie is an allegory for how the strong exploit the weak. This was especially true back in the days of old, where man exploited man. Now, thankfully, we live in a modern and enlightened age, and it's just the opposite!

Scripted by Lloyd Fonvielle from the novel by Mary Shelley, this is a fairly interesting revisionist take on Shelley's legendary story. Rock star Sting stars as the icy cold Charles Frankenstein, who as the film opens has already created his male monster (Clancy Brown), and is now in the process of constructing the monsters' mate (Jennifer Beals), whom he names Eva. During the subsequent destruction of Frankensteins' lab, the male monster escapes, soon making the acquaintance of amiable dwarf Rinaldo (David Rappaport). Rinaldos' ambition is to eventually make it to Venice, but for now he wants to join a circus to make ends meet, and the monster - who *Rinaldo* dubs Viktor - tags along. Meanwhile, Frankenstein works hard at creating, in his eyes, the perfect woman to introduce to high society.

The lovely friendship between Rinaldo and Viktor is the true heart and soul of the film, and makes it worth seeing. Rappaport is so endearing - he's the real star of this show - and he and Brown work so well together, that they make the segments with Beals and Sting less intriguing by comparison. There is a theme here of men harbouring a fear and distrust of the empowered woman, and Frankensteins' desire to basically be in charge of Evas' life is part of his undoing. Brown is wonderful as Viktor, and while Sting and Beals do decent jobs, they're not as much fun to watch. A superb supporting cast consisting of Anthony Higgins, Geraldine Page, Alexei Sayle, Phil Daniels, Veruschka von Lehndorff, Quentin Crisp, Cary Elwes, Timothy Spall, Guy Rolfe, and Tony Haygarth lends a great deal of respectability.

"The Bride" has the absolutely perfect look in terms of classic Gothic horror, but in the end it's much more of a drama, and romance, than a horror film. Its opening scene is certainly great horror in the old tradition, and the lab set is amazing. The period recreation is impeccable, and Maurice Jarres' music is beautiful.

Overall, a good film worth a look or revisit for fans of this kind of literature.

Seven out of 10.

Baron Charles Frankenstein (Sting) and his assistants create Eva (Jennifer Beals) for his monster (Clancy Brown). Eva rejects the monster and he destroys the lab. Frankenstein escapes with Eva. Unbeknowst to him, the monster also escapes and befriends midget Rinaldo. Rinaldo teaches him humanity and gives him the name Viktor. They travel to Budapest and join the circus. Meanwhile, Frankenstein intends to civilize Eva and mold her into his love. He tells everyone that he found her in the woods with memory lost. Captain Josef Schoden (Cary Elwes) is taken with her. She encounters Viktor and the spark is reignited.

The movie has little tension. When the story splits in two, the tension fades. Sting is stiff in this and not his best role. Jennifer Beals doesn't deserve her Razzie nomination. Her role requires some odd work from her. This is a bad attempt at reworking the Frankenstein story.

The lovely young student of Baron Charles Frankenstein tires of his strict tutelage and rebels, unaware she was indeed brought to life by the mad doctor--sewn together from corpses--and that a male counterpart to whom she was intended is roaming the countryside. Director Franc Roddam and screenwriter Lloyd Fonvielle's underrated rethinking of 1935's "The Bride of Frankenstein" hasn't much intrinsic spirit, though it does have lyrical scenes and interesting performances which qualify it as a fascinating misfire. As the Baron, rock star Sting poses sufficiently and glowers moodily, though he's all on one-note; Jennifer Beals is somewhat better as the Bride--with feminist leanings--and a number of her scenes (such as her first run-in with a cat and her dialogue with a derelict traveler) are quite beguiling. Critically-lambasted film has beauty, but little mystery--it's intriguing without truly being effective. Clancy Brown plays the initial (sympathetic) creation of Frankenstein, and his friendship with happy-go-lucky dwarf David Rappaport is marvelous, though this side-story really belongs to a separate picture (it holds the central action back, and keeps it from blossoming). "The Bride" is surprisingly ambitious and has rather grand moments, but a complete success it is not. **1/2 from ****

I don't see this as a remake of _Bride of Frankenstein_ at all. In _Bride of Frankenstein_ the bride is created, rejects the idea of being the monster's mate, and is brought down together with monster, maker, and laboratory. That happens here too, but it's only the beginning and the movie mostly gives us the further adventures of the trio after they have picked themselves up and dusted themselves off.

The bride on the one hand is groomed to be a woman who can achieve anything but is unaware of her origin, though she is does find an ossuary a fascinating place to be. The monster on the other hand is all too aware of his origin but unaware of his potential as a human being. This makes an interesting contrast, but mostly the film is just more of the James Whale sort of thing, for people who like that sort of thing. It's respectful, not exploitative, but not ground-breaking either.