Maggie Gyllenhaal appeared on The Interview with The New York Times to talk about her latest directorial effort, The Bride, and how she was challenged during the Studio Test review process regarding the film’s depiction of violence and sexual violence. Gyllenhaal wrote and directed The Bride, a revisionist take on The Bride of Frankenstein starring Jesse Buckley and Christian Bale.
“There’s sexual violence. There’s violence. It’s a big studio movie, so we tested it a lot,” Gyllenhaal said. “There were big screenings in shopping malls and people came to see this movie, and I had never been a part of it before, either as an actress or as a director. It was very fascinating. And one of the things they brought up was the violence. Violence. Isn’t that too true? And I was talking to my girlfriend about it, and she was like, ‘If you were the guy making this movie, would you have had the same reaction?’
Gyllenhaal said Warner Bros. “requested that some of the violence be removed” from the film during test screenings, “so what you’re seeing is a step back from what the movie was originally about.” While making the film, she made it a priority to desensitize the violence depicted in the film.
“One of the things that’s important to me is that everyone who was killed is hurting. We can know them, at least for a moment,” Gyllenhaal said. “There’s a version of stormtroopers who kill people. They wear white masks and you don’t know who they are. And there’s a version where every death has a consequence and a cost. Every death.”
Gyllenhaal went on to say, “I also want to talk about sexual violence because that’s another job I’ve been given to do…in exam screening. I’ve had some women say, ‘I don’t want to see women get assaulted.'” And I don’t think I want to see that either. Nevertheless, it is a major reality in the culture in which we live. Just as I was cutting this film, I realized how deeply alarming and disturbing the brutality against women was in the world. So if we’re going to watch it, we have to watch it in a way that’s hard to watch because it’s so bad. And if you know anything about me, if you look at my work, which started with “Secretary” when I was 22 years old, this is something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. I think a lot of thought has gone into this topic, but it’s still painful to watch. I think we can accept that. ”
The Bride is Gyllenhaal’s second feature film. Her debut film was 2021’s The Lost Daughter, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, as well as acting nominations for Olivia Colman (Best Actress) and Jessie Buckley (Best Supporting Actress). With The Bride, Gyllenhaal entered the world of studio filmmaking for the first time.
“Yeah, it was difficult, but not in a bad way. It was very new for me,” Gyllenhaal told the Times. “I loved working with Pam Abdi, who runs Warner Bros. with Mike De Luca. She understood me and understood what I was saying. And sometimes she would say, ‘Maggie, you can’t make Frankenstein lick the black vomit off the bride’s neck. That’s too much. You can’t do that.’ But she understood why I wanted it.”
“The Bride” opens in theaters on March 6th. Visit the New York Times website to read her full text on “The Interview.”
