Love Lies Bleeding (2024)
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Love Lies Bleeding Movie Review
Love Lies Bleeding is a 2024 neo-noir romantic thriller film directed by Rose Glass and starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian. It’s an odd, but unique genre-bender.
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“I fucking love you, you idiot“
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Lou is a reclusive gym manager who falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder who’s heading to Las Vegas to pursue her dream. Their love soon leads to violence as they get pulled deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family. As soon as this movie started and ended, I knew that what I was witnessing was an instant cult classic. It has all of the elements that make a movie a cult film – from its unique style all the way to a polarizing ending.
This neo-noir started off as a very hot and steamy lesbian romance. The sensual scenes between the two heroines were so sexy and so memorable that I would have been fine with the entire movie being just that. But Rose Glass had something different in her mind as she included a murder and eventually a whole lot of mayhem that firmly put this film into the crime thriller territory.
Love Lies Bleeding is ultraviolent and grotesque at times, but the many twists and turns that it piled upon audiences for the most part worked and they made the movie genuinely entertaining and even riveting. But let’s talk about that ending. It includes our bodybuilding heroine becoming a giant and the two fleeing from the scene in a car. It felt like a super-violent version of ‘Thelma and Louise’. That surreal element that was included could stand as a metaphor for body image issues, but ultimately it’s so ambiguous that it can be understood either straightforwardly or metaphorically and you wouldn’t be wrong. I personally did not have any issues with it, but I can obviously get why it would frustrate some viewers.
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It is such a joy witnessing the rise of Kristen Stewart. She was absolutely atrocious in blockbusters during her early career, but then she finally found her footing, which is not just indie movies, but more so suspenseful and propulsive B-movie thrillers. And she’s excellent here, delivering one of her best and most charismatic turns while benefiting from a memorable 80s aesthetic.
Another standout is Katy O’Brian. This is my first time seeing this actress and she intrigued me from the very beginning. Her turn here is very emotionally and mentally confusing as is her character while her physicality is obviously a scene-stealer in and of itself. The scenes between the two actresses were so electric and daringly erotic. As for the others, Dave Franco got a very small role and such an ugly hairstyle and moustache, Jena Malone got a thankless victim role, Anna Baryshnikov is memorable in also a minor role, and the highlight was Ed Harris in a very menacing villain role.
Love Lies Bleeding is an emotionally cold and distant movie as it’s very difficult to care for these confused, damaged women who ultimately become vicious killers. But when crime thrillers are concerned, this movie is among the better of the bunch. It appealed to me on a purely visceral and visual level – the score is strong, the editing is excellent, the directing is fantastic and the cinematography is striking. The movie has a unique feel and look that is all its own. It’s a pulpy affair unlike no other.
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Love Lies Bleeding is a neo-noir genre-bender unlike no other. Its ending is quite polarizing, but ultimately I appreciated its unique style, tone and surreal nature. It’s obviously difficult to care for its characters, but this great cast helped matters tremendously. Ed Harris fared best among the supporting players in such a menacing villain role while the two leading ladies were both highly memorable and fantastic. Katy O’Brian delivered an emotionally chaotic and impressively physical turn while Kristen Stewart continues to excel in these smaller movies where her talents are best showcased. This is a very violent and crazy movie, but one that has such an authentic look and feel that is all its own. It’s as much a twisty crime thriller as it is a daringly erotic and electric romance.
My Rating – 4
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