The premiere was electric. Critics whispered about “reinvention” and “Gyllenhaal’s audacity,” but a single question hung in the air like cigarette smoke: Was The Bride! a musical? Peter Sarsgaard, Gyllenhaal’s husband and co-star, may have fanned the flames by mentioning “big dance numbers” in an interview, sending cinephiles into a tizzy.
But before you start humming show tunes, Maggie Gyllenhaal wants to set the record straight. Despite casting vocal powerhouses Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, The Bride!, she insists, isn’t aiming for Broadway. It’s not Wicked or Chicago—something else entirely.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the director stated plainly: “Can we just put to bed the thing about it being a musical? It is not a musical at all. That’s a different form. I don’t know why that keeps coming up.”
Dancing in the Dark: Unpacking Sarsgaard’s Claims
Ever notice how a single comment can snowball into a full-blown rumor? Sarsgaard’s words became the seed of speculation. But Gyllenhaal isn’t dismissing the “big dance numbers” entirely. Bale’s character, “Frank,” apparently has a soft spot for a song-and-dance man portrayed by none other than Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie’s brother.
“He’s such an incredible singer, and I love hearing him sing,” Gyllenhaal said of her brother. “If you sit through all the credits, at the very end is one of his beautiful songs he sings. That was really a live, exciting connection, working with him on set.”
Think of these musical moments as seasoning, not the main course. The Bride! might not be a musical, but it’s certainly… musical-adjacent.
Is there singing in The Bride!?
Beyond the in-universe cinema moments, both Bale and Buckley will be showing off their moves. Buckley even teased “a ginormous tap dance sequence,” a tantalizing glimpse of which appears in the film’s trailer.
A Monster Mash with a Twist: Defining the Genre
Genre labels are useful, until they aren’t. They’re boxes we try to fit art into, but sometimes, the art spills over the sides. The Bride! seems determined to defy easy categorization. It’s a monster movie romance, yes, but one seasoned with dark humor, punk rock energy, and, yes, even a dash of song and dance.
Maybe Gyllenhaal’s creation is a chimera, a stitched-together beast of cinematic influences. She’s creating something new and unexpected.
What is The Bride! about?
So, to clarify: The Bride! isn’t positioning itself as a traditional musical, but it’s clearly embracing musical elements. This isn’t just about catchy tunes. The music and dance seem woven into the very fabric of the narrative.
March 6: Mark Your Calendars for Unconventional Romance
Consider the current landscape of monster movie reboots. There’s a hunger for something fresh, something that subverts expectations. And with every detail revealed, The Bride! hints at being just that: an unconventional, genre-bending experience.
Who is in the cast of The Bride!?
With a cast led by Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, and with music by Jake Gyllenhaal, this film is shaping up to be an interesting ride. The film hits theaters March 6.
The Bride! is not a musical in the traditional sense, but it definitely has some of that flavor in there. What other surprises does Gyllenhaal have in store?
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