Rose Glass has written and directed a few highly touted indie films, the most recent being 2019’s Saint Maud, and now she returns to multiplexes with a new Romantic thriller that involves drama, love, and violence.
Love Lies Bleeding transports us to the 1980s, as standoffish gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart) falls hard for an aspiring female bodybuilder and drifter Jackie (Katy O’Brian), who makes a stop on her way to Las Vegas to compete in a bodybuilding show. As their relationship burgeons, the two become entangled in Lou’s family drama involving her brother in law JJ (Dave Franco), sister Beth (Jena Malone), and father Lou Sr. (Ed Harris). The two will have to figure a way out of their jam without losing each other.
It was certainly the intention of Love Lies Bleeding co-writer and director Glass to imbue the film with an unflinching rawness that called to mind 90s romantic thrillers as the film is filled with gory violence and sensual sex scenes that emphasize both elements of the genre. Neither aspect feels especially over-the-top and fit the story as it is presented onscreen despite the graphic nature of the violence in particular. Love Lies Bleeding also plays up its pulpy elements often drifting into the fantastical in its depictions of its characters, particularly Jackie.
Glass shoots Jackie’s body during her fits of steroid fueled rage in a way where her muscles expand and she grows in size like a real life Incredible Hulk. It starts off as a cool visual storytelling effect before it ventures off the rails into the absurd at the film’s conclusion. The moment feels like a summation of the film’s issue, a tonal rollercoaster that has its moments, but ultimately feels unfocused and too unrestrained. Stewart and O’Brian display quality chemistry and are interesting to watch together, but the overall quality of the story doesn’t match their performances. The conflict at its center feels rote and too familiar, a non-criminal family member being stuck amongst criminal royalty with a new love interest inspiring them to get out, and Love Lies Bleeding has nothing new to add.
Ultimately, you have two decent enough performances stuck inside a B-level movie that seems as if it would have been more at home on Cinemax in the 90s. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if you’re at home flipping through channels for something to occupy your time, but not what you take a trip to the movies for.
Image: A24
