Five years ago, British filmmaker Rose Glass wrote and directed the subversive and controversial Saint Maud, another film produced by A24. Taking a turn away from the horror genre, Glass makes her comeback with the Kristen Stewart led neo-noir film, Love Lies Bleeding. Stewart plays Lou, a chain-smoking gym manager with a shady past. The film is also led by Katy O’Brian, Ed Harris, Dave Franco, and Jena Malone. O’Brian plays Jackie, a traveling bodybuilder training for a Vegas competition, who finds herself in the New Mexico desert. A run in with Franco’s devious character, JJ, allows her to attain a job with Lou’s father, Lou Sr. Shortly after that, Jackie and Lou fall hard in love and give in to every incriminating impulse on the way; sense doesn’t exist in this 1980s microcosm of lawless mania.
Following their meeting, Lou pumps Jackie up with steroids, known to increase libido, inextricably tying their desire and intimacy to pain and gain. Lou is an equally destructive character, lighting up a cigarette to the tune of an anti-smoking ad. They are each fascinating to watch, and Stewart and O’Brian have palpable and riveting chemistry on screen. Love Lies Bleeding is made more enjoyable to watch given a compelling ensemble of unhinged characters making bad decisions. The story is made all the more dangerous with Lou Sr.’s mafia-like presence in the desert and the FBI’s growing suspicion of his dealings. Jackie, unaware of his murderous tendencies, finds herself in a world that demands revenge, violence, and loyalty.
Ed Harris’s Lou Sr. is a disgusting and vile villain, an antagonist fitting neatly into the shady atmosphere of his setting and time. Although from the U.K., Glass recreates America’s rural desert as if she lived in the place herself. In that way, Love Lies Bleeding doesn’t feel like a film that arouses nostalgia for the past; rather, it inspires authenticity and complete immersion in it is a world full of wicked individuals. While Lou Sr.’s got that characteristic Mafia boss flair, he’s also a complex character with a past and present that makes him act with a calculated bit of insanity. His daughter Lou, trying to avoid contact with him, finds herself unable to escape his control and influence in the events that take place in the film. With her growing anger towards her sister Beth (Jena Malone) and Beth’s abusive husband, JJ, Jackie takes notice and brings her steroid-fueled erotic rage straight to murder.
You’ll find a bit of Bound and Thelma & Louise in Love Lies Bleeding (sprinkled with some Bonnie and Clyde). The script is well-written by Glass and co-writer Weronika Tofilska. But what’s even more impressive is the ripping sound design that enters a scene whenever Jackie’s muscles build in density (this will come to its climax in the film’s surreal conclusion). While the bone-crunching noises inspire discomfort, they also build the film’s themes of depravity and violence. Disgust, being an inherent portion of each character’s everyday life, permeates the film. In a moment of fury, Lou Sr. bites off the head of his pet beetle and chews it to pieces. These characters have no sense of control, and that’s what makes the narrative so compelling. Each action builds up to an unspeakable fit of violence that simultaneously shocks and amazes the film’s audience. Each cast member easily fits into the persona of their roles, delivering many unforgettable moments throughout the feverish film.
Kristen Stewart is one of the best actresses of our time. If you have any doubts, well, Love Lies Bleeding will clear all that up. She sports a killer mullet and a tendency to run away from danger. Her love for Jackie implicates her in her father’s crimes, making her unable to play the clueless bystander. Her facade falls and all the tension building between Lou and Lou Sr. explodes in the film’s finale.
While not everything works in the ending, Love Lies Bleeding is an insanely sexy ride with a ton of jaw-dropping surprises along the way. You won’t want to miss this one. I can’t wait to see what Rose Glass has to show next. Hopefully it doesn’t take another five years.
4/5 STARS