Love Lies Bleeding is a shocking and gritty study in how far we can go for love. Would we resort to incredible violence? Would we be able to face our own demons or confront the ghosts of our past? Director Rose Glass’s follow up to Saint Maud, Love Lies Bleeding explores just how far love can bend someone until they break.
As Jackie, played by Katy O’Brian (The Mandalorian, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) makes her way through a small New Mexico town enroute to Las Vegas for a bodybuilding competition, she begins to develop a budding romance with local gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart). As their romance deepens, violent circumstances surrounding Lou’s family strain their relationship and set both of them down a path that tests exactly how far they’ll go for each other.
Lou’s complicated relationship with her family serves as the central emotional backdrop of the film. Constant worry about how her sister Beth (Jena Malone) is being treated by her good for nothing husband (Dave Franco), combined with an estranged relationship with her father Lou Sr. (Ed Harris), drives Lou to keep her family at arm’s length while also trying to keep her sister within reach. Complicating matters is the fact that Lou Sr. is a local gang leader and owner of the shooting range where Jackie ends up working.
To be blunt, Kristen Stewarts’s performance as Lou feels to me like more of the same that we’ve seen from her in other performances. It’s hard to read much more than discomfort or frustration from Lou, though in moments where those emotions are warranted, she shines. She does briefly demonstrate moments of passion, concern, and panic but ultimately they don’t carry enough weight throughout the course of the film, leaving her performance feeling inconsistent.
With Lou’s relationships coloring the backdrop of the plot, it’s Jackie’s ambitions, both as a bodybuilder and as Lou’s new lover, that drive the entire film forward. Katy O’Brian delivers a powerhouse performance as Jackie, wearing her heart on her sleeve without pulling her punches and refusing to back down from absolutely anybody. Love Lies Bleeding doesn’t shy away from presenting Jackie as a strong woman, unapologetically showcasing her bulging muscles and raw strength at every turn while still framing her as a woman who not only has emotional depth, but is also desirable and beautiful.
When it comes to captivating performances, Ed Harris gives my favorite performance of the year so far as Lou Sr. in Love Lies Bleeding. Dripping with a menace and authority that perfectly encapsulate a man who has gotten his way as a small town big shot for far too long, Lou Sr. dominates every single scene he’s in. Lou Sr. is cool and calculating, and even in softer moments where you can see he clearly cares about the members of his family, you can see a wrath bubbling just beneath the surface. It’s strikingly clear that Lou Sr. is a force to be reckoned with throughout Love Lies Bleeding and witnessing it is a sight to behold.
The entire film exudes a dusty, southwestern vibe juxtaposed with bright tinges of neon, which amplifies the clash between Lou’s and Katy’s worlds and wants. Scored with heavy, 80’s-style synths, Love Lies Bleeding has a style all its own. A sense of nostalgia backed with the subtlest hints of grimy disgust permeates the film and continues to draw the viewer in – even when something doesn’t feel right and they’re inclined to turn away.
Despite everything Love Lies Bleeding does right, there are some choices in the back half that held the film back from being truly spectacular. As more of the story unravels, along with Jackie’s emotional state, we’re treated to some oddly surreal moments of magical realism that frankly felt out of place in this film. One such moment dominates the very climax of the film and was met with several laughs in the theater where I attended the screening. With so much tension built up over the course of Lou and Jackie’s wild ride, this odd turn at the climax left me feeling more dissatisfied than anything else, and I wish I could have seen things play out differently.
Rose Glass has crafted a sophomore feature that is passionate, violent, shocking, and surreal all in equal measure. It examines just how far someone could go for love and lays bare what those extremes can look like. Though I would have appreciated a more solid ending without some of the more bizarre moments, Love Lies Bleeding is a solid film with stellar performances from most of the cast.
Score: 8.5/10
Check our more articles from Jaxson before you head out!
LOVES LIES BLEEDING
Trailer: CLICK HERE
Release Date: March 15th
Directed By: Rose Glass
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Katy M. O’Brian, Ed Harris
Rating: R
Running Time: 104 minutes
Synopsis:
From Director Rose Glass comes an electric new love story; reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.
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