With a stylized vision of love, ambition, violence, and desire, Love Lies Bleeding defies classification as a romantic crime thriller directed by Rose Glass. The 2024 release is cinematic poetry, vibrant in its imagery, and captivates with a bold story interlaced with emotionally raw yet physically explosive moments.
Set during the 1980s in New Mexico, the film takes a dive into the world of bodybuilders, crime syndicates, and the filthiest of small towns, but through a queer lens that adds them all together in such an enchanting way that showcases a unique perspective. This story is a deeply disturbing tale masked under the veil of unconventional love that marks the beginning as a classic romance, but gradually needs you to peel back the different layers of passion, manipulation, and moral depravity.
In the movie Love Lies Bleeding, Lou, played by Kristen Stewart is a reclusive, chain-smoking manager at a gym in a small, dusty town in New Mexico. Lou is a woman of routines, going through life with her head down. She is plagued by the memories surrounding her father and the underground world her father was associated with. Everything changes for her the day Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a determined and muscular bodybuilder with dreams of moving to Vegas to compete, rolls into her town.
They are strongly and immediately attracted to each other. Their romantic chemistry is fierce and their passion even fiercer. What comes first as a red hot romance slowly expands into an emotional relationship that is difficult to navigate for both. And because love is never simple, it’s complex.
Tension within the story arises when Jackie attempts to make ends meet leading to her pursuit of a dream that fully envelops her in Lou’s dark history. Ed Harris plays Lou Sr., Lou’s father, who is a local mobster and crime boss with a rather cool and dense control of the area like the brutal heat of the desert. Lou tries to keep Jackie away from becoming involved in this world which only makes matters worse because they are already deeply entrenched within a web of deception, violence, and betrayal.
It is evident throughout that secrecy, violence, and betrayal are at an all-time high and this turns the film into a well-crafted drama that combines chilling acts of violence alongside deep emotional trauma. Aggressor and protector, lover and partner; these roles are not easily definable in the third act.
Characters and Performances
Lou played by Kristen Stewart
Stewart blows the audience away as she performs at an unnecessary high level of emotion. This leads to “Lou” being a character who is stubborn and rough with many trauma sticking to her which makes Lou a guarded woman. From her expression, it is clear that she feels suffocated from the need to be loved and desperate to offer love in return. She beautifully expresses a struggle through words as well as movement, showcasing an empathy that is complex and unexplained.
Katy O’Brian as Jackie
O’Brian is an astonishing performer. Jackie is a multifaceted character, and O’Brian imbues her with a potent combination of ambition and fragility. Her physique alone commands attention, yet is emotionally open which makes Jackie such a striking character. She is both the story’s engine and most sympathetic character. She is tough, hungry, and increasingly gets tangled in forces beyond her control and comprehension.
Ed Harris as Lou Sr.
Harris is one of the most underestimated performers. He portrays Lou’s father with the cold, commanding authority of a man who has perfected cruelty as currency. He is chilling, but not cartoonish in his performance. Lou Sr. represents the generational weight of violence which Lou is trying, and failing, to escape.
Jena Malone as Beth
In a relatively less prominent role, Malone acts as Lou’s sister, which deepens the family’s dysfunction and gives insight into how profound the family’s corruption is.
Dave Franco as JJ
Franco plays the role of Lou’s out of control criminal sibling who brings toxic masculinity to new heights. He is the source of some of the film’s most violent and disturbing moments.
Themes and Symbols
Beyond a crime thriller and a romantic story, Love Lies Bleeding probes deep into the unpredictability of emotion that comes when love is juxtaposed with pain.
Destruction and Desire: Lou and Jackie are as much drawn together as they are emotionally needy towards each other. Their love is multi-dimensional and is proving to be more hazardous as time goes on. The film analyzes how healing and harm can stem from a single source of one’s passion.
Vulnerability and Power: Whether Lou is failing to keep Jackie safe, Jackie is attempting to take charge of her life, or Lou Sr. is depicting himself as a ruler to everyone, the film perpetually questions the essence of power in the context of one’s relations – intimate, domestic, or illegal.
Armor and Weapon Body: In a society dominated by bodybuilders and gangsters, the strongest become the wealthiest. Jackie has one such body that’s muscular. Her body protects her and provides her freedom, while it simultaneously makes her vulnerable. The film undermines the existing notion of gender by placing the center of attention on women in a masculine context.
Cycles of Violence: Lou’s past coupled with her family’s inheritance puts her newer life in jeopardy. The film raises fundamental questions about the possibility of escaping one’s origin and like a seed, it will always lie dormant, waiting to sprout just beneath the surface.
Direction and Style
Director Rose Glass creates a world that is both real and surreal. The film is visually striking through its bold, gritty, and sweat-drenched neon aesthetic. Everything has a tangible quality, from the weight clanging in Lou’s gym to the sun-baked roads outside of town.
Glass leans fully into melodrama, and openly subverts traditional narratives. The pacing is slow, giving audiences the opportunity to feel the tension build before it explodes. When violence erupts, it is usually cold and brutal. However, the softer moments where there are touches, glances, or silences have so much breath beneath them.
Conclusion
Remarkably unapologetic and emotionally deep, Love Lies Bleeding is not any ordinary film. This stylish crime drama delves into the complexity of love without romanticizing it. It’s a story of two women trying to emotionally anchor one another in a world that seems determined to rip them apart.
Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian’s performances along with Rose Glass’ atmospheric direction provides an acute sense of both genre and thematic depth. This film is just as likely to break your heart as it is to make it race.
For anyone in consideration of a beautiful, complex, and simply unique film in comparison to the contemporary cinema genre appreciate Love Lies Bleeding.
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