Written by: Rose Glass & Weronika Tofilska
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco
Rating: [3.5/5]
While we cannot choose those who we’re related to, we can choose who we can spend time with and remain integral to our lives. Something everyone comes to learn at some stage of their lives and the particular one the characters in Love Lies Bleeding go through makes for such a unique viewing experience. It becomes a film following individuals that typically do not get the spotlight all highlighted under this sweaty experience.
Arriving in a rural town in New Mexico, Jackie (Katy O’Brian) seeks to begin her prep for a bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas. While working out she meets the manager of a local gym, Lou (Kristen Stewart) where they begin a relationship that carries great promise. Their dynamic, however, faces challenges when Lou’s family drama begins to intersect with an already on-edge Jackie.
Set in a world where despicable actions occur aplenty, in her sophomore effort, Rose Glass takes a very direct approach in Love Lies Bleeding. It leaves nothing to the imagination and also delves into some gnarly characters and circumstances with Lou and Jackie at the center of it all. It combines the romance of these two along with the crime element that Jackie gets swept up into and it certainly does not relent in the intensity it brings to every single frame. From the scenes of Jackie pumping iron while at the gym to all the violence that will later transpire, this feature seeks to deliver a visceral experience to audience members and it certainly succeeds.
At the center of this story we have different women who navigate this world in different ways. Lou just tries to get by with managing a gym with nothing much tying her to this town other than her sister Beth, (Jena Malone), who finds herself in an abusive relationship with JJ (Dave Franco). Lou’s inability to help her sister frustrates her to no end but ultimately hampers her ability to fully love her life. Then enters Jackie, who energizes Lou’s life and her dominating presence breaks down all the dynamics existing in the film. She serves as this catalyst as both someone to be feared and desired, which makes the casting of Katy O’Brian so critical to the success of this film.
Women of O’Brian’s stature typically do not get the opportunity to lead films such as this one and her muscular exterior makes the emotional breakdowns all the more impactful. She represents everything the other women do not in this feature and she makes such an incredible impact, especially seeing how all the craziness happens as the narrative progresses. It clashes the idea of what a feminine lead could look like, which makes the love story between Lou and Jackie all the more intriguing to take in and appreciate.
One fun element this feature displayed were the disgusting and odd men at the center of it all. We see this specifically with JJ, who Dave Franco plays exceptionally well. This guy deserved nothing but the worst but he receives a level of protection around him that embeds deeply into the misogyny laden all throughout the film. Nothing accentuates this more than Ed Harris’s portrayal of Lou Langston Sr. He has strange hair and a weirdly calm demeanor for all the baggage he carries with him and the power he holds over all the characters. Harris wields this menacing presence also not having an imposing figure, which makes him the opposite of Jackie in this story. The ways in which they intersect truly gets things going and everything goes off the rails in the best of ways.
Plenty of bloodshed, sweat, and steroids to go all-around, Love Lies Bleeding feels much different to Rose Glass’s feature debut Saint Maud, but she further displays her excellent filmmaking style. It makes her a director to watch as she continues to work with strong casts such as this one and knocks it out of the park. Glass builds out a distinct world and characters that will be hard to forget. The film is quite the ride from beginning to end and allows Kristen Stewart to shine once again but also allow Katy O’Brian a breakout role to get on all of our radars.
Films with Josh 
