Love Lies Bleeding
Love Lies Bleeding
Starring Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian, Ed Harris, Dave Franco
Directed by Rose Glass
In a small New Mexico town in 1989, Lou (Kristen Stewart) is a reclusive gym manager who's father Lou Sr. (Ed Harris) owns the local firing range but also smuggles weapons across the border and commits numerous murders by throwing the bodies off an isolated ravine. Lou's sister Beth (Jena Malone) is a battered and bruised bride, who's husband JJ (Dave Franco) repeatedly beats her with reckless abandon, yet Beth is too brainwashed to go to the cops, angering Lou.
This tense family dynamic is threatened by Jackie (Katy O'Brien), a bodybuilder on her way to Las Vegas to compete in the bodybuilder championships. Lou instantly falls for her, and the two begin a whirlwind, chaotic romance. Serving as the fuse to light the match, Jackie gets far too deep into Lou's family life and when a heinous murder is committed, Jackie and Lou must face the music together or let it break them apart forever.
"Love Lies Bleeding" is a gritty, unrelenting film that elevates itself above the tropes by focusing on unique characters telling a unique story through the eyes of unique actors who give more than 100% to the project. You're immediately thrown into the seedy world of the late 80s thanks to cinematographer Ben Fordesman who turns a small New Mexico town into the stuff of midwest (or, I guess, near midwest) nightmares. The town is cloaked in darkness thanks to Lou Sr., who not only controls the gun trade to Mexico, but has officers on his payroll and easily dispatches anyone who gets in his way - even when it comes to his own family.
The film really drives its three main themes home: love, lies, and bleeding. The love is the love between Lou and Jackie, and that love is sensual, intense, and volatile. Kristen Stewart continues to amaze post-"Twilight" with daring roles like this, and I think this is one of her best. She plays Lou as more than just a damsel in distress, but a woman who's equal parts vulnerable and powerful, knowing her strength yet doubting it at the same time. She's complex and layered, a meaty role for Stewart to sink her non-vampire fangs into and does so deliciously.
Katy O'Brian is a relative newcomer to the scene, who's biggest role was in "Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania." Before getting into acting she was a professional bodybuilder and cop, so this role was perfectly suited for her. She nearly literally fills the screen as Jackie, a roided up bodybuilder who falls hard for Lou and her chaotic world, and fully immerses herself in it, even though it could cost her dearly. She's the brute force of the film, the human embodiment of a hurricane, and proof that the MCU greatly missed their shot into making "She-Hulk" more than just a CGI mess but just cast her in the role instead. Her relationship with Lou is the heart of the film, and although its chaotic and literally insane, you feel the love between these two. O'Brian is given the more outlandish moments in the film that could go over many movie-goers heads, but for those who understand Glass's metaphors they resound like a church bell ringing.
The lies in the film come in many different forms and from many different people, and these lies threaten to shatter Lou and Jackie's chaotic world. The stuff they do for love - especially Jackie - further delves the two women into the world of lies and deceit, leaving Lou behind to serve as the literal cleanup crew on more than one occasion. Ed Harris shines as the villainous Lou Sr., a cold-blooded SOB who would literally kill his own children to better his own existence. Dave Franco also shines as the nefarious JJ, a wife abuser and womanizer who's role really stands out from Franco's typical goofy, good-natured comedic performances. Jena Malone also gives a stellar performance as Beth, the long-suffering wife who basically serves as the catalyst for the insanity that follows.
That insanity is literally blood all over the place, as murders occur in the most visceral ways. Rose Glass doesn't skimp on the gore and violence, and even I gasped at the shock of one scene. The camera never flinches away from the violence, and it's almost as bad as your most violent horror movies. When you throw in the unique music by Clint Mansell, and you got an unforgettable sexy noir thriller that is captivating, riveting, and downright nutty in all the right ways.
Proving herself a more-than-capable director in her second outing, Rose Glass's "Love Lies Bleeding" is a unique noir thriller that doesn't skimp on the gore but shies away from the tropes and generalities that make the subgenre a joke to some, offering nothing to laugh at here thanks to a strong ensemble cast led by Kristen Stewart and Katy O'Brian.
The Score: A+
Comments
Post a Comment