'Love Lies Bleeding' Review: Pulpy Western Crime Flick Gives the Genre a Lesbian Bench Pressing
Be gay, lift weights, and don't do daddy's crimes. That should've been Love Lies Bleeding's tagline! Don't let the bulky butch girls catch you slipping, or they'll hulk out on you and leave your body looking like jelly. That's what I took away from Rose Glass's sophomore flick, which transports the body horror and queer aspects of her disturbing horror flick Saint Maud from Britain to the American West but with roided-out bodybuilders and criminal gangster dads. Taylor Sheridan wishes his Western fare could be as pulpy, gay, and bloody as this.
R: Violence and grisly images, sexual content, nudity, language throughout and drug use
Runtime: 1 Hr and 44 Minutes
Production Companies: Film4, Escape Plan, Lobo Films
Distributor: A24
Director: Rose Glass
Writers: Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco, Ed Harris
Release Date: March 8, 2024 (Limited)
Exclusively in Theaters
In 1989, in New Mexico, small-town gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart) meets a newly arrived Jackie (Katy O'Brian). She's a bodybuilder with a murky past and a heart of gold, as she wants to restart her life and is determined to go to Vegas to compete in a bodybuilding contest. Bulk meets butch in the best way, as they instantly form a whirlwind romance with each other. Lou's background, however, prevents her from traveling. Her family ties involve her ruthless gangster drug lord dad, Lou Sr. (Ed Harris), and her dirty brother-in-law, JJ (Dave Franco), who physically abuses her docile sister Beth (Jena Malone). After a domestic abuse attack leaves Beth in the hospital, Jackie takes matters into her own brawny hands – which spirals her and Lou into the web of crime that threatens their relationship and lives.
Many period pieces lately have emphasized the nostalgia of their era rather than subtly playing to the authentic lifestyles of the time. Glass's vision of New Mexico during (said in the voice of Public Enemy) 1989 is nothing to be nostalgic over, for this Reagan-era "War on Drugs" is as grim as it is isolating. Lou's POV of New Mexico is a layer of hell where the males are filthy scumbag drug pushers, murderers, or wife beaters, and the girls are chaotic addicts – including the steroid-using Jackie. You instantly feel how the cards are stacked against Lou, for she struggles with the trauma of being daddy's little hitman during her upbringing. Rather than escape from it all, she decides to keep an eye on her sister Beth and ensure her safety.
Also authentic to the time is the peak lesbian representation. After hooking up with someone you deeply connect with, they go, "Hey, can I, like, crash here?" And boom, you land a new girlfriend. No U-Haul required in the way Jackie "and they were roommates" her way into Lou's heart. Jokes aside, once Jackie enters her sphere, Lou's small-time life gets lifted, and their love becomes Love Lies Bleeding's focal point. Plus, Lou's options for romance are slim with bisexuals that she got burned by and the floaty wild card Daisy (an exceptional Anna Baryshnikov who had me gripping my chest with her unpredictable vibe) scheming her way back into her life.
Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska's screenplay tightly intertwines their romance with the meat of Lou's revenge story, elaborating on what is (possibly) the best portrayal of the saying, “Love will make you do stupid things.” Lou and Jackie make stupid decisions, but their love-rooted motivations enhance the theme – and the number of deaths around them. This dynamic exists thanks to Kristen Stewart and Katy O'Brian's stellar performances.
Lou is Kristen Stewart at the peak of her Stewartisms. I'm talking about her nervous tics in line deliveries and facial hesitations that complement the anxiety-inducing conflicts her character faces. She also beams with a charming romantic aura whenever she's tender with her scene partner, Katy O'Brian. Stewart welcomes a gritty demeanor that matches Glass's nasty environment, though Lou never reaches her dad's level of playing dirty, reminiscent of Invincible’s Omni-Man.
Katy O'Brian, where the hell did you come from?! She burst through the door with brute force, showcasing female rage repression in her mannerisms and physicality in such a sophisticated manner. She’s so resilient and restrained, like Batman's Bane, that when she detonates, all hell breaks loose. While Jackie is as messy as everyone else in Lou's world, O'Brian grounds her with her portrayal.
Despite its slow-burn pace toward the bombshell turning point that lends itself to the daddy vs. daughter revenge story, Love Lies Bleeding is ruthlessly nasty, only getting more ambitiously messy and gory as it furthers. As much as it is a Western romance-crime flick, Glass’s genre-bending has a "take it or leave it" confidence, for she bridges her conventional elements with impressive body horror. The technical aspects, from the practical effects and makeup to the sound design, are all wildly distinctive, evoking a Troma flick feel.
The narrative is admittedly conventional. It repeatedly plays to that Western revenge formula but makes it all in the name of family. Out of all the directions its latter half could've taken, focusing on Lou vs. Lou was the best option, for it works out as a well-done love story, and I had a fantastic time.
Living up to its title, Love Lies Bleeding is an exhilarating ride as it gives the Western revenge formula the gay bench pressing it deserves. Rose Glass, never trim your thorns.
Rating: 4/5 | 84%
