89%

Reviewer Flickchart Ranking: 601 / 5,424

Love Lies Bleeding (2024) stars the infinitely wonderful Kristen Stewart as Lou, a haggard gym manager, and Katy O’Brian as the seemingly naive burgeoning bodybuilder Jackie. Lou is burned out of life; she wears the weight of the past over the entirety of her being. Jackie comes to our story bright, homeless, and willing to do almost anything to progress toward her goal of winning an upcoming bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas. Jackie only sees future. 

Each plot beat could feel worn out, recycled indie territory, from the inevitable romance between Lou and Jackie to the narrative turn into criminal behavior and the less-than-surprising ways the darkness around ties them together. But writer/director Rose Glass (Saint Maud, 2019) shifts away from the well-traveled methods, using humor sparingly but effectively, and utilizing multiple filmmaking techniques that allow us to experience this gritty crime tale through exciting new lenses. 

Close your eyes and imagine for a moment that deep in the depths of the Hollywood movie laboratory Glass blended a Coen Brothers crime tale with a bit of the mindestens of David Cronenberg and just a pinch of a bodybuilding documentary. If you can see that, you can begin to understand what makes Love Lies Bleeding so special. 

Exuberant love scenes, disturbing violence, eccentric characters, magic realism, dark humor, and moments that capture that wondrous high that new love brings; Rose Glass’s film embraces its influences and pushes forward into her own unique voice. Kristen Stewart casually sucks you into Lou’s inner life, while Katy O’Brian mesmerizes in her first major role, and Ed Harris does his best to try to steal every scene he shows up in. Love Lies Bleeding offers audiences everything they want from a spirited indie crime thriller, while providing the beautiful rush of an exciting new cinematic voice.