“Love Lies Bleeding” Review
Kristen Stewart, one of the two leads in "Love Lies Bleeding," at Comic Con in 2009. Photo from Erangi Kaushalya via Flickr
Last year’s writer’s strike may have caused a bit of a disturbance in Hollywood, but 2023 was still an amazing year for movies, arguably the first truly great year since the pandemic.
With all of the highs in 2023, many people have been pessimistic about this year’s slate of films. Nothing too noteworthy has come out yet, that is except for Denis Villenueve’s sci-fi epic “Dune: Part Two.”
But one overlooked and underrated gem in the beginning few months of 2024 has been Rose Glass’ new thriller “Love Lies Bleeding,” starring Kristen Stewart and newcomer Katy M. O’Brian.
Glass, the 34-year-old writer-director, is known for her 2019 debut “Saint Maud,” a religious-driven horror/psychological thriller. Five years later, she’s back with “Love Lies Bleeding,” an enhancement to her filmmaking capabilities on all fronts.
“Love Lies Bleeding” initially plays out like a romance story; however, you can sense an uneasy tension throughout the entire first act slipping through the cracks.
The film follows Lou, a gym manager, played by Stewart, who falls for a bodybuilder, Jackie, played by O’Brian, who is eyeing to compete at a bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lou and Jackie meet and instantly hit it off, Jackie being intrigued by the idea of using steroids as Lou proposes. She obliges and they start a relationship. Jackie ends up staying at Lou’s place, but because she just traveled from Oklahoma, she is homeless with no money. Lou takes her in, but the more serious their relationship becomes, the more Lou’s criminal family becomes a hindrance to their relationship.
The movie stars Stewart, who once was the star of the critically panned, awfully campy “Twilight” series. And many agree that the largest part of why that series got ripped apart was because of Stewart's abysmal acting.
For a long time, Stewart focused on smaller, quieter projects like “Clouds of Sils Maria” and “Still Alice.” However, the 2020s seemed to have awakened something in her, seemingly making her choose her roles with way more intent than ever before, like her Academy-Award nominated performance as Princess Diana in 2021’s “Spencer,” and now in 2024 with Glass’ “Love Lies Bleeding.”
Stewart’s name is truly on the rise in terms of respect in the industry, not just being known as a teen star in a series universally considered “so bad it’s good.” Who would have thought that the two leads of Twilight would now be two incredibly respected A-list actors, with multiple great performances under their belt.
Again, Stewart is great as Lou, her performance is very raw and genuine, but it is Katy M. O’Brian, in her first big movie role, who steals the show.
O’Brian is amazing as Jackie, a bodybuilder who’s clearly somewhat lost and looking for something. Throughout the movie, Jackie goes through many emotions, starting with innocence, followed by stress, sadness, fear, a desire for revenge and eventually regret.
She plays all of them very realistically, her performance persuading the audience to believe that she really does go through all of these emotions. O’Brian was arguably the star of the show, and her acting chops were on full display here, solidifying herself as someone to watch going forward.
Still, the film was not without its side characters, including JJ, Lou’s sleazy, abusive brother-in-law, played by Dave Franco in his limited screen time. Veteran actor Ed Harris plays Lou’s dad, Lou Sr., who is at the forefront of the criminal acts that occur in the movie and has an almost offensive haircut to boot. Other smaller characters include Lou’s annoying acquaintance Daisy, played by Anna Baryshnikov, and JJ’s denial-struck wife Beth, played by Jena Malone.
There are many great things in Love Lies Bleeding, including Rose Glass’ direction, the cinematography, the makeup work and the performances in general, but the main takeaway from the movies is the themes it provides.
Embedded in the film’s plot are themes of isolation, betrayal and feelings of power. Lou and Jackie go through the wringer, giving room for Stewart and O’Brian to challenge themselves mentally and emotionally throughout the film’s runtime.
And obviously, the representation of sexuality and LGBTQ+ themes are on display; however, not as much as you would initially be led to believe from the film’s marketing. These themes are prevalent, but not the main driver of the plot.
However, the film isn’t perfect. I’m not one to typically play devil’s advocate, but in a year of somewhat aggressively bad movies thus far, I think some factors give the movie a better perception and make it more enjoyable.
It’s an A24-genre movie with themes that aren’t always active in a lot of current media, and frankly, out of the two lesbian movies made this year, Joel Coen’s lukewarm Drive-Away Dolls and Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding, the latter is just flat out better.
Glass is a part of the new generation of filmmakers that are currently on the rise. She isn’t in the leagues of Ari Aster, Jordan Peele or Damian Chazelle just yet. However, after the critical success of her debut Saint Maud, many fans now wait to hear the news about her upcoming films.
Love Lies Bleeding was yet another success for Rose Glass, and the movie is definitely worth a lot of the hype it’s receiving. It’s currently playing in theaters, and I would recommend checking it out.