Year of Release: 2024
Director: Rose Glass
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, Dave Franco, Anna Baryshnikov, Orion Carrington, Keith Jardine, Tait Fletcher, Jerry G. Angelo, Eldon Jones
Genre: Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review
Following her well received feature directorial debut, "Saint Maud", "Love Lies Bleeding" is Rose Glass's sophomore directorial endeavor. The narrative focuses on the story of Lou, a young woman who manages a small gym, located in a small town of New Mexico, in the late 1980s. She has stayed in town due to her family ties, particularly her strong bond with her sister Beth, though she maintains a strained relationship with her father Lou Sr.. Her life suddenly changes when Jackie comes to town. She's a bodybuilder, preparing for a competition in Las Vegas and starts training at the gym. Their mutual attraction is palpable, and they soon move in together. Jackie starts using more steroids to increase her training output, while Lou's family life takes a dark turn when her sister Beth is brutally beaten by her husband JJ. Jackie, who also harbors resentment towards JJ, upon witnessing Lou's despair over her sister's state, goes to Beth and JJ's home, and kills him. Lou discovers what has happened, and fears for Jackie's arrest. She decides to get rid of the body, and pin that death on her father, who is a crime lord in the area. They dump the body and JJ's car down a ravine, which attracts authorities to the area, where other criminal activities have happened. Events continue to escalate soon after, with Lou Sr. getting involved, and Jackie more and more out of control.
There's much to admire in "Love Lies Bleeding", starting with the co-writer/director's ability to bring to life the small town vibe in which the film takes place. There's a vividness to that small town, both in terms of its geographical footprint, but also on its minimizing aspect it seems to create in these characters, making everyone's ambitions and dreams somewhat smallish. As if everyone fears moving beyond the confines of that small town, and everything they know and can trace by living there. In a way, Lou and Jackie's openly defiant queerness is the first sign of disruption on that small environment (in hindsight, there's something also noirish to that locale, similar to John Dahl's "Red Rock West" or even Dennis Hopper's "The Hot Spot"). Their relationship isn't secluded or hidden, it's unbashful, even as crime comes into play, and threatens to destroy whatever they have created. Both Lou and Jackie are complex characters, even if they exist within the confines of a pulp/noir narrative, something that makes their exchanges, both with each other and the supporting players, that much more enticing. It's a film that does fall into some clichés, namely with the victimized sister and the gangster father, but it manages to do so with conviction, and with an energy that still makes these characters feel lived in and somewhat authentic. The cast is fantastic, with highlights going to Kristen Stewart, whose career is taking a direction that is both unexpected and rewarding, the always solid Ed Harris, Dave Franco, and Katy O'Brian. The production team is equally solid, particularly the fantastic score from Clint Mansell, Ben Fordesman's cinematography, and Katie Hickman's production design. A solid and unexpected film worth watching.
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