Love Lies Bleeding
U.S.A./U.K. 2024

Opening 18 Jul 2024

Directed by: Rose Glass
Writing credits: Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska
Principal actors: Anna Baryshnikov, Kristen Stewart, Dave Franco, Katy O'Brian, Jena Malone

Rose Glass’ eclectically original, strikingly bold vision for her new film is full-bodied layers of violence, surreal superheroes, carnal pleasure, substance abuse, corruption and, not to be forgotten, love in its many varieties. The English director’s co-written screenplay with Weronika Tofilska sprinkles in some humor and satire for good measure.

Without wasting a second, sweating bodies performing strenuous workouts in the gym that the reticent Louise “Lou” Langston (Kristen Stewart) manages fill the screen. Buzzing around like a pesky infatuated mosquito is Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov) who “Lou-Lou” keeps swatting away, just as the vagrant Jackie Cleaver (Katy O'Brian) and J.J. (Dave Franco) are introduced in tight confines. Passing through on her way to a Las Vegas bodybuilding competition, Jackie and Lou meet at the gym; Lou is clearly enamored. She has not cared about anyone in a long while, other than sister Beth (Jena Malone) and her kids—she detests her brother-in-law. Jackie gets a job at a gun range; the boss, Mr. Langston (Ed Harris at his marvelously evil best) keeps his eye on her. Unaware initially, quickly enough Jackie learns the intensity of Lou’s estrangement from her father, whose shady dealings around town are suspect to FBI interest, inquiry. It is when the battered Beth ends up in the hospital that the film’s steroids kick in.

Flexing muscle, the screenplay swings from the gym to the gun range to Lou’s apartment and Beth’s home entwined with food, lust, exotic bugs, drugs, and guns. Its exceptional cast add weight, volume and plausibility to their characters, particularly O’Brian, Stewart, and Harris. Tensions build as each character lands in a tight spot and has to make a hard choice. Especially excruciating for father and daughter… up to a point. Anybody caught in-between are there by choice. As a new day dawns, for a lucky few, so does a new beginning.

The arresting Love Lies Bleeding’s creative auditory euphony that merges music (Clint Mansell) and sound design (Paul Davies, supervising) sets the tempo keeping tensions high and minds alert while following the heart-stopping action. Filmed in New Mexico, Ben Fordesman’s expansive cinematography is laudable, and Mark Towns’s shrewd editing cuts on the ring of a phone, a heartbeat. Powerful, intense and graphic, Glass’s spine-tingling psychological thriller is sure to charge audiences’ adrenaline and titillate their sensibilities. (Marinell Haegelin)

Second Opinion

Jackie (Katy O’Brian) is a bodybuilder and on her way to a competition in Las Vegas. When travelling through a small town in New Mexico, she meets Lou (Kristen Stewart), who works at a gym for sport-lovers. This mutual interest brings them together; they fall in love and make plans to travel together. However, Lou’s strict father Lou Senior (Ed Harris) has his own plans for his daughter. He manages a Gun Camp, illegally smuggles firearms into Mexico, and works by the motto “Let Dad take care of everything.” He teaches Jackie how to shoot. Then there are two friends:  Daisy and JJ, as well as eventually Mike, who represents the FBI. Events become complicated with blackmail an issue. Soon we have several corpses to be eliminated. Easy: just put them in a car and push it over a cliff.

Here, it’s 1989 and smoking is a constant activity and there seems to be more blood than love. Katy O’Brian impresses as a bodybuilder, showing her own real muscles. In the final scene Jackie and Lou are in a car driving away, hopefully, to a new life. Perhaps this ending is actually a new beginning, and we’ll eventually have Love Lies Bleeding, Part II. Filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Love Lies Bleeding premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and then showed at the 74th Berlinale Film Festival, as well as the Glasgow Film Festival. (Becky Tan)