LOVE LIES BLEEDING (2024)

Streaming on Max from A24 Films!
Directed by Rose Glass.
Written by Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska.
Check out the trailer here!!

A gym manager named Lou (Kristen Stewart) is blown away when a new bodybuilder named Jackie (Katy O’Brian) makes her way into town. The two quickly become embroiled in a strong relationship. Daisy is training to perform in an upcoming bodybuilding competition and in order to look her best, begins using steroids, making her emotionally unstable. Meanwhile, Lou is having family issues as her father Lou Sr. (Ed Harris) is the local crime boss with his hand in every operation going on in the small New Mexico town and her sister Beth (Jenna Malone) is in an abusive relationship with her no-good husband JJ (Dave Franco). All of this drama comes together in an explosive and violent way by the time the credits roll.

Those who balk at the mere word of the word lesbian are going to have a lot to run away from in LOVE LIES BLEEDING, but if they do they are going to miss out on an incredibly complex and bombastic movie about the horrifying things we do for those we love. While, yes, there is a lot of girl on girl action in this one, the film escalates to a fever pitch once you realize that the old adage about love is true, “the brightest fire burns out the fastest.” Both Lou and Jackie are deeply flawed individuals, drawn to one another mainly because they really have never met someone like each other before. I don’t want to over-generalize, but I have it on good authority from my lesbian friends that there’s an old joke in the lesbian community, “What does a lesbian bring on her second date? Her suitcase and all of her things.” Meaning that there is a tendency in the lesbian community to rush into relationships, most likely because once one finds someone with the same kind of likes and dislikes in a small town where LGBTQ are parts of the alphabet aren’t used very often, they tend to move quickly while the fire is hot. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. Not judging or anything, but it certainly is a bad thing between these two tragic souls starring in LOVE LIES BLEEDING. The film has a fiery beating heart, just waiting to explode at any minute and director Rose Glass and her co-writer, Weronika Tofilska build tension atop tension in this seedy story that feels ripped from the same cloth as such epic crime/love stories as TRUE ROMANCE, THE GETAWAY, and BLOOD SIMPLE. While the lesbianism is strong with this one, this is a story mainly about rushed love and brutal violence resulting from it.

LOVE LIES BLEEDING has an amazing cast of actors who alone could carry a movie themselves. Though she still has a bit of that TWILIGHT baggage, I really like the film decisions Kirsten Stewart has chosen, though admittedly, I’ve only seen her in UNDERWATER and LOVE LIES BLEEDING, but in both films she is a force of nature in a minuscule body. She is the guiding force of this storyline and everyone in the film revolves around her, though Stewart’s Lou doesn’t want any of that type of attention. But you really feel the impact Jackie has on Lou’s life and the hope she feels as this relationship begins, as well as the sorrow when she seems to be the only one who understands how hopeless that relationship is.

Of course, the role that makes the biggest impact, literally and figuratively, is played by Katy O’Brian as Jackie. Disney should be kicking themselves not just simply using this actress as the She-Hulk instead of the CG monstrosity they ended up with. On top of delivering a heartbreaking performance, O’Brian commands every scene she is as the monstrously muscular bodybuilder with the heart of gold, but a mind that is…shall we say, impulsive. Seeing the mistakes she makes along the way as this story rolls on made my throat clench up.

Rounding out the cast is Ed Harris who is basically playing the embodiment of the devil. His receding mullet is a wonderfully demented touch, but he is lethal and terrifying in every scene he’s in, even when he’s trying to be the voice of reason and decency amongst the chaos Lou and Jackie have created. Jenna Malone is strong as Lou’s sister, delivering a complex role of the abused wife who still loves her family, even her abusive husband, deeply. And Dave Franco, who for some reason, I have a strong disliking of, is great as said abusive husband JJ.

Once the intense passion between Lou and Jackie begins to dim, the violence begins and whoa nelly, does this one get rough. There are some truly brutal moments that had me wincing and screaming. There are some scenes of delusion and nightmare that are scarring. After we get to know our cast, Glass and Tofilska’s story mauls each and every character relentlessly and it’s hard to shake.

Now, the ending of LOVE LIES BLEEDING slides right off into batshit-ville with a fantastical sequence oozing with metaphor. This is where the film is going to lose a lot of people, as everything that has grounded the film before the film’s climax fades away and Lou and Jackie transcend to become much more than simple humans. I could have done without it, literally hyping them to mammoth proportions is a representation of their importance to this story. At the same time, as Lou and Jackie become towering titans, it feels appropriate as size and strength are ever-present on both Lou and Jackie’s minds. Lou is a small person in a small town, trampled down by the weight of her criminal father while Jackie is an insecure person burying herself under mounds of muscle. While it’s not as literal, this ending is not unlike THELMA & LOUISE or BUTCH & SUNDANCE diving or driving off that cliff into mythic infamy. So while this shift from the literal to the metaphorical is a jolt, I think it fits in this epic love story we’ve watched unfold.

Containing powerful performances, an epic story of love and loss, and a brutal and violent nature, LOVE LIES BLEEDING is definitely unlike most films you’re going to watch this and any year. Keep an open mind and give it a shot.