Love Lies Bleeding
Synopsis: Gym manager Lou falls for Jackie, a bodybuilder en route to Vegas.
Director: Rose Glass
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Katy M. O'Brian, Ed Harris and Dave Franco
Runtime: 1 hour 44 mins
Genre: Mystery Crime Thriller
Love Lies Bleeding (Very clever title BTW) is the second feature from British director Rose Glass after her critically acclaimed, Oscar nominated horror debut Saint Maud.
Developed by E4 and A24, this movie which currently stands at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, was premiered at Sundance back in January to a rapturous response.
Let's break it down..
Story and Plot
Lou (Stewart) is a reclusive gym manager who falls hard for Jackie (O'Brian), an aspiring bodybuilder on her way to Las Vegas to pursue her dream. Their relationship however soon takes a dark turn leading to violence as Jackie right's a wrong in Lou's family and in doing so gets pulled into the web of Lou Sr. (Harris) and his criminal family.
My overall thoughts...
The word I would use for Love Lies Bleeding is "Intense". The tension, the sex scenes and the violence. It is rated 15 for strong violence and sex scenes, and they weren't kidding, Drive Away Dolls this is not. What it is though is a fantastic movie which at just over a 100 minutes is as short as it is raw.
I was hooked from the first frame and it had me in a vice like grip until the credits rolled. It was utterly absorbing, as you see innocent love get torn apart by Lou's family. The movie has a fantastic feeling of being in the 1980's, the period aesthetic is on on point.
Despite this being only the second movie of Glass's career, her direction is supremely confident. The script is fantastic and it features superb acting, especially from O'Brian and Stewart.
Whilst the movie is intense there are also moments of very dark humour to break up the tension. It deftly deals with themes such as regret, death, lust and abandonment and even dabbles in some magical elements which work nicely.
Cast
For me the standout performance of this movie was Katy M. O'Brian, it will surely be seen as her breakout role. Seen previously in minor parts on both The Mandalorian (S3) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it is for this movie that she will make her name. She was born to play Jackie, her on screen imposing physicality is matched by her acting chops, which are considerable. She is superb, Jackie maybe be jacked but she's also a sensitive person whose heart is the right place. She will next be seen on screen in Twisters in July.
Stewart is also excellent as Lou, the downtrodden chain smoking daughter of Lou Sr. With Love Lies Bleeding, Stewart continues to demonstrate her chamelon-esque approach to acting. It's a stretch to think the mullet styled Lou is also the same actress who portrayed Princess Diana in Spencer. She gives another very strong performance that is both vulnerable and ballsy at the same time.
As for the two actresses together, their chemistry is superb and very natural. Two lost souls finding each other at the right time.
Veteran actor Ed Harris is chilling as the demonic Lou Sr. Sporting a creepy long wig with his trademark bald head still in tact, I was never at ease when he was on screen. Always one step ahead of Lou and Jackie with a deadly twinkle in his eye.
Anna Baryshnikov as Daisy (Lou's ex) is creepy and downright cringy, great acting though. What really helped her look were her nicotine stained brown teeth. She was ghastly.
Jenna Malone who plays Lou's sister Luna is suffering at the hands of her abusive husband, a detestable Dave Franco. Both of which are excellent and it is their explosive toxic relationship that proves to be the movies inciting incident and spark that lights the flame to the rest of the movie.
Sound and Spectacle
The sound design is superb in this movie, loud and violent when called for and deathly quiet in others. The crackly effect when Jackie's muscles expand (having taken steroids) is particularly well done. As for spectacle, there are set pieces in the movie but are more a by-product of the story rather than existing for action sake.
As alluded to above there are also some magical elements to the movie by and large induced by steroid taking sessions, and there is a scene in the denouement that will divide audiences on whether they went too far or not.
On screen Action
There are two types of "action" in this movie. One is to be expected in a crime thriller (more on that later). The other is well..."action". Whilst the lesbian comedy Drive-Away Dolls earlier this year featured a fair amount of sex, it was always played for laughs and depicted with a light hearted tone. This is not the case with this movie, the sex scenes in Love Lies Bleeding between Lou & Jackie whilst relatively brief are intense, steamy and erotic. So much so that a man in Michigan got arrested by police after falling asleep having "exposed" himself whilst watching the movie.
As for the more traditional action, it is bloody and intense in equal measure. Rose Glass does little to pull back in shocking her audience in the gore of the two main violent acts in the movie, so be warned. There is also a dream like sequence that is bordering on horror, but it is fairly short.
Music and Score
Clint Mansell provides the score which is chilling from the first frame. It works superbly with the very effective sound design. The movie also features some great 80's needle drops.
Love Lies Bleeding is an electrifying revenge thriller. Brutal, featuring intense bloody violence and steamy sex scenes this movie does not hold back. O'Brien is a revelation, Stewart continues to shine & Harris is positively vile. Rose Glass exudes confidence at the helm. Love may lie bleeding, but it also conquers all.
Verdict - MATCHED EXPECTATIONS
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