Love Lies Bleeding
This sultry, surreal neo-noir will have you renewing your gym membership
Kristen Stewart and Katy O'Brian flex their impressive skills in Rose Glass's noir Love Lies Bleeding.
Of all the seedy gyms in all the towns in all the world, she walked into Lou’s.
That’s how Love Lies Bleeding starts, with the arrival of Jackie (Katy O'Brian) in a dingy little one-horse New Mexico town. Hoping to earn a few bucks before competing in a Vegas bodybuilding competition it’s only a matter of time until she stumbles into the only gym in town, owned by Lou (Kristen Stewart).
There’s immediate chemistry between Jackie and Lou, but the road to true love is rarely straightforward. As the duo tries to forge a lasting relationship, they must contend with Lou’s gangster father, steroids, and a couple of murders. Can Jackie and Lou find something beautiful in the midst of this chaos?
Sexy, surreal, and darkly hilarious, Love Lies Bleeding is the movie Drive-Away Dolls should have been. The sophomore film of director Rose Glass, this is a movie that delights in genre trappings and period setting. Glass elevates cliches in the noir genre, putting fun new twists on our concept of a femme fatale and the beleaguered “every man” who can’t resist them. It’s a smart, gorgeous piece of filmmaking that uses gore and brutality to ground the story even when it dabbles in magical realism.
Glass works hard to establish the world of Love Lies Bleeding, filled with all the noir trappings and 80s nostalgia that any viewer could ever dream of. Cinematographer Ben Fordesman bolsters this milieu, making the world around Jackie and Lou look grimy, yet beautiful. Every surface of every set looks like it would be sticky to the touch, and truly enhances the sense that no one would stay in this town if they had a choice. In between shots of dingy locales and dusty vistas are gloriously lit closeups of the characters in bright red when they’re provoked.
Glass and Weronika Tofilska crafted a clever twisting script to support the heady atmosphere. Everyone in Love Lies Bleeding has secrets, some more explosive than others. If you’re not paying attention, you may miss a connection or a fragment of backstory that unlocks something interesting about a character. Even when the movie becomes more whimsical, the script and actresses behind it keep things from going off the rails — and that’s all I’ll say about the odd turn this film takes, it’s truly best to go in as blind as possible.
Both Jack and Lou are trapped in prisons of their own making. Jack is desperately fleeing a mysterious past and Lou is stuck in this rundown town because she’s terrified of leaving her abused sister alone in the world. They find solace in each other as they look for a way out.
Stewart is quietly brilliant as Lou, a woman resigned to living in misery for the love of her sister. When we meet her, she’s literally elbow-deep in human waste. But Lou doesn’t scream or look disgusted, she’s used to this kind of agony. She’s a shell just nodding through her day until her eyes fall on Jackie. Stewart is incredible at playing repressed characters, and it’s truly something to see her come alive as she starts her relationship with Jackie.
O'Brian gets the slightly flashier role of Jackie and carries herself beautifully as a profoundly damaged woman who uses her physical strength to mask her vulnerability. Her physical presence in every scene is eye-catching, it’s rare that the femme fatale of a noir is physically imposing as well as alluring and seductive. As she forges a tentative trust with Lou, it becomes clear that Jackie isn’t used to kindness and tenderness in the world. And it’s the test of this devotion that is ultimately the backbone of the film.
Backing up Stewart and O’Brian is a magnificent Ed Harris. Styled to look like a mad fusion of The Crypt Keeper and Riff Raff from Rocky Horror, Harris quite literally chews the scenery. He knows exactly what film he’s in, and what’s required from the villain of the piece. It’s nice to see Harris unrestrained and having fun as he sinks his teeth into the part.
If you’re hoping for a sexy thriller with plenty of laughs and some jarring violence, Love Lies Bleeding is well worth the ticket. See it on a big screen to truly appreciate the scope of this genre thriller.
Verdict: Seductive and fun, Love Lies Bleeding is a bloody good noir with some killer performances.
Love Lies Bleeding is rated R and available in theaters.
