A solid, nasty film noir set in New Mexico, Love Lies Bleeding is a stylish blend of genre set pieces and director and co-writer Rose Glass’s distinctive vision of erotic bodybuilding. A tough sell to mainstream viewers, it will build a loyal following of thriller fans.
Glass opens with the camera pulling out of a Jo Nesbø canyon to reveal the gleaming lights of a city much like Albuquerque. That dreamlike landscape is replaced with a tawdry sex scene behind a dive bar between scumbag dad JJ (Dave Franco) and runaway Jackie (Katy O’Brien).
Jackie later wanders into the Crater Gym, a fleapit filled with past-their-prime gym rats who stare at clichéd slogans tacked onto the walls. The gym is managed by clinically depressed Lou (Kristen Stewart), who is instantly drawn to the newcomer. Jackie’s big ambition is to win a Las Vegas bodybuilding competition; Lou just wants to get out of the trap her life has become.
In the grand noir tradition, the two make one wrong move after another. The script, which Glass co-wrote with Weronika Tofilska, jump starts the story before filling in background details. It turns out Lou and JJ are related: JJ has been seriously abusing his wife and Lou’s sister Beth (Jena Malone). Protecting her is the one reason Lou sticks around her crummy job.
JJ works for Lou’s father Lou Sr. (Ed Harris), who runs a gun club while dabbling in drugs and arms dealing. Lou Sr. has a left lot of dead enemies, and his daughter knows where the bodies are buried.Lou’s biggest mistake may be turning Jackie on to steroids (the film takes place in 1989). When Jackie explodes, it’s hard to tell if it’s the drugs or her own neuroses. The results are catastrophic. Despite Lou’s best efforts to contain the damage, Jackie keeps veering into even worse situations
Critics have drawn comparisons to Thelma & Louise, but that film was positively buoyant compared to this. I was reminded more of John Dahl B-movies like Red Rock West and Kill Me Again, dark, hopeless stories whose dead ends feel inevitable.
Not everything works in Love Lies Bleeding, but Glass is such an accomplished director that viewers can glide over the rough spots. Is the gun club a too obvious metaphor? Don’t worry, Glass handles it perfectly. Ditto the macho bodybuilders Lou and Jackie have to deal with.
Stewart does a great job in a role that seems to mesh with her personal issues and priorities. O’Brien is consistently mesmerizing, able to maintain sympathy even as she goes off the rails. The secret weapon in Love Lies Bleeding may be Ed Harris. An icy father and resolute killer, Harris gives scintillating line readings. He is the most frightening thing in the film.
Credits: Directed by Rose Glass. Written by Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska. Produced by Andrea Cornwell, Oliver Kassman. Executive Producers: Susan Kirr, Ollie Madden, Daniel Battsek, David Kimbangi. Director of Photography: Ben Fordesman. Production Designer: Katie Hickman. Edited by: Mark Towns. Cast: Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brien, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco, Ed Harris.
Photos courtesy A24. Photos by Anna Kooris.
