Sundance Review: Love Lies Bleeding
A trippy 80s-themed noir crime thriller with Kristen Stewart and Ed Harris
Love Lies Bleeding
Directed by: Rose Glass
Written by: Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian, Ed Harris, Dave Franco, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov
You’ve likely seen the trailer for Love Lies Bleeding and just being an A24 release lets you know that you’re in for a wild ride. How wild is always up in the air, as it could scale from Under The Skin to Lady Bird to Moonlight to Eighth Grade to Room to Midsommar to Uncut Gems to Everything, Everywhere All At Once to The Iron Claw and beyond. I love that A24 has emerged as a kind of new-wave version of Miramax, which used to bring bold, innovative, and provocative indies to the masses, but is now a shadow of its former self. A24 is the new king of indie cinema, which is entering a kind of golden era that we haven’t seen in some time.
As superhero movies step back to take a much-needed break in 2024 (minus Deadpool 3 and Joker 2), A24 has an opportunity to shine a light on some indie films without spandex, capes, or superpowers, starting with Love Lies Bleeding. But, is this a feather in the cap for the studio or something that will fizzle when released to the masses?
Love Lies Bleeding is directed by Rose Glass (Saint Maud) and stars Kristen Stewart as Lou, a lesbian gym manager with a checkered past who falls hard for transient bodybuilder Jackie (The Mandalorian’s Katy O’Brian), who ushers in a world of trouble for the pair, made all the worse by Lou’s gun-running father, Lou Sr. (Ed Harris, sporting the most wicked hairstyle ever for the actor).
Glass stages a moody, noirish atmosphere for Love Lies Bleeding from the start, (which almost feels like the A24 house style at this point), establishing a 1989 setting in Kentucky, where everyone has bad haircuts, bad teeth, and awful style. (Man, did we all really look that terrible back then?) The ominous, synth-style score by Clint Mansell keeps the tone properly eerie and unpredictable as we’re introduced to Lou’s sister, Beth (Jena Malone) and her abusive husband, JJ (Dave Franco), leading to the main plot that drives the film.
Stewart comes off as, well, Stewart. She’s a strong actress, but with Love Lies Bleeding it feels like she’s playing the same person she presents to the public; aloof, moody, but not without charm. You’ll have to take beauty off of the chart for this one, however, as Lou operates firmly in tomboy territory with shorn, shaggy hair, baggy clothes, and a rough presence. This is as far away from Bella Swan as you can get.
O’Brian’s Jackie, on the other hand, presents a whole other persona. Strong, ripped, beautiful, and with a more revealing style (gym attire is the outfit du jour here). However, upon meeting and hooking up with Lou, who promptly injects Jackie with tren (aka steroids) in her buttock the first night they meet, ends up kickstarting a transformation that’s literally Hulk-like, serving as a metaphorical show of her growing love for Stewart, as well as what she will do to protect it.
Franco is appropriately scummy and serves his purpose, while Malone does the same as an abused housewife who doesn’t see herself as abused. Harris, on the other hand, lends a great deal of credibility and presence to the film, looking like some kind of cro-magnon beast of a man mixed with a Musashi-era samurai, complete with a mane of hair past his shoulders and a sheer dome on top. The lines in Harris’ face tell a story all their own and his gravelly voice is like a rumble of foreboding every time he speaks. Making him the final boss of any crime film in this form is Grade A casting and he’s almost utilized to the fullest here.
I say almost, because buried within the complex style of Love Lies Bleeding is the most simple of plots, which finds Lou and Jackie trying to cover up a murder, all the while navigating the rush of emotion that comes with falling in love. The anxious energy is ever-present, which is essential to a film like this, but it’s never as clever or exciting as it could be, settling for a more stripped-down narrative that plays more with emotion than storytelling, almost as if the details would just get in the way.
Still, the style, performances, and boldness make up for the storytelling and plot issues with Love Lies Bleeding, making for a perfect addition to the A24 line-up, as well as the indie film genre. There’s sudden, shocking violence, trippy, surreal visuals, raw, unadulterated sex, dark, uncomfortable humor, and a general sense of tension that doesn’t let up until the very end, where the film goes into some very meta realms. If none of that tickles your fancy, then Love Lies Bleeding isn’t for you. If you’re tickled, then get ready for a wild ride that may not be an instant classic, but it’s something you’ll certainly talk about on the ride home.