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The Bride

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1772241294885BRD-FP-219_High_Res_JPEG_custom-proxy.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Annette Bening in ‘The Bride.’ Warner Bros. Pictures</div>For Annette Bening, the most powerful stories are the ones that move her — and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride” did just that. “I was really moved by it,” Bening says of the screenplay. “That’s the most powerful thing that can happen to me. That’s why I do what I do — to tell stories that move people. I thought it was really gorgeous. Very sad. Very bittersweet. Very joyous. Just full of love.”The film, written and directed by Gyllenhaal, offers a daring, unconventional take on a story rooted in the Frankenstein mythos. Bening plays Dr. Euphronious, a scientist whose brilliance is matched only by her willingness to defy the rules of her profession. “She has a classical scientific education and approach that ended up going off the rails because of her relationship with a man that she was deeply in love with,” Bening explains. “She got into trouble with her contemporaries, but she has her own way of approaching the work that she’s doing. She’s definitely on the fringe and doesn’t play by the rules.”When Christian Bale’s lonely Frankenstein — referred to simply as Frank — arrives seeking a companion, Euphronious is both thrilled and challenged.<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JI_BiGdqrDE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>“He’s this very, very unexpectedly soulful creature. And this, I think, is just, for Euphronious, thrilling,” Bening says. Their experiment revives a murdered young woman, and Jessie Buckley’s The Bride emerges — strong, fiery, and unpredictable. “The first thing Euphronious thinks is, ‘It worked!’ But The Bride has this duality going on inside of her that is really shocking. She doesn’t quite know what to make of it. It’s certainly fascinating, and she’s in a certain amount of distress, and that is troubling. Euphronious wants to keep this reinvigorated person safe, but she also wants to study her.”Bening was equally enchanted by the film’s environments. The sets, designed by Karen Murphy, are “specific, imaginative, wondrous, yet very real.” The office — painted in a shade called Heavenly Peace — is warm, personal, and richly detailed, while the laboratory, full of period machinery, offers both authenticity and theatricality. “You can see where Euphronious has traveled in the world by the sculptures on the bookcases,” Bening notes. “The books, the sculptures — they all tell you about her long, rich life.”The actor also admired Gyllenhaal’s unique approach to storytelling. <div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1772241365803BRD-09743r_High_Res_JPEG_custom-proxy.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Annette Bening with director Maggie Gyllenhaal. Warner Bros. Pictures</div>“What is unique about Maggie is that first of all, she’s created this story in her own head. And it’s completely original in the way that she uses language and in the way that she’s visualizing how this story is told,” Bening says. “She has a confidence in her which is so important, but she’s also humble. She has a very strong, deeply rooted connection to what she’s trying to tell. And it’s very personal.”“The Bride” promises a radical and combustible story of love, desire, and rebellion. A lonely Frankenstein travels to 1930s Chicago to commission Euphronious to create a companion, but the results spiral into a tale of murder, possession, and a wild cultural movement. At its heart, however, Bening emphasizes, the film is human, soulful, and very moving. “I’ve never read anything like it. It’s very sexy. It’s very anti-establishment, I would say. And the characters and the way that they manifest are not conventional.”<div>“The Bride” opens in cinemas and IMAX on March 4.</div>

For Annette Bening, the most powerful stories are the ones that move her — and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride” did just that.

For Annette Bening, the most powerful stories are the ones that move her — and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride” did just that.

Why Annette Bening agreed to star in bold new film ‘The Bride’

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Why Annette Bening agreed to star in bold new film ‘The Bride’

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 28, 2026 09:25 AM PHT

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Updated Feb 28, 2026 09:33 AM PHT

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The Bride

Annette Bening

Maggie Gyllenhaal

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