Film Review: Love Strikes Hard in Love Lies Bleeding
Love Lies Bleeding
The sexy smoke filled noir thriller Love Lies Bleeding (2024) is about many things: lust, murder, mayhem, steroids, guns, violence (plenty of violence) and perhaps rarest of all, finding love where and when you least expect it. Set in small town New Mexico during the late 1980s, the film features the supreme acting talents of Kristen Stewart (The Runaways, Certain Women, Lizzie, Spencer, Happiest Season) along with big screen vet Ed Harris, Dave Franco, Anna Baryshnikov, and actress/ martial artist Katy O’Brian who delivers a stunningly raw and nuanced performance.
This dark drama was directed and co-written by British filmmaker Rose Glass, whose previous feature was the 2019 psychological horror film Saint Maude. Rose co-wrote Love Lies Bleeding with Weronika Tofilska (director of several episodes of Baby Reindeer on Netflix). Glass reportedly used the controversial 1995 movie Showgirls as inspiration for the overall look and tone of the film which might best be described as having a visceral lesbian pulp fiction cinematic aesthetic.
Love Lies Bleeding begins with an ominous shot looking up from a deep crevice in the Earth’s surface seemingly evocative of Oscar Wilde’s famous quote, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” In a press interview Kristen Stewart referred to the symbolism of this opening imagery as a metaphor for, “the cracks in us that monsters hide in.” This mysterious physical fissure in the rugged landscape serves to symbolize the wounded psyches of the two female lead characters and the real or imagined monsters lurking just below the superficial façade of everyday life.
At its core Love Lies Bleeding is about violence, dysfunctional family, secrets, and two broken souls who find strength in one another all the while confronting the real and metaphorical cracks in each other’s psyches and striving to keep the monsters hiding there at bay. The plot revolves around two lonely characters living bleak lives filled with violence, desperation, and hopelessness. In the case of Lou (Stewart) this theme is made abundantly clear right from the start when viewers are introduced to her character while she has her hand lodged down a clogged toilet in the bathroom of the dingy gym she manages. Jackie (O’Brian) is introduced as a solitary homeless hitchhiker en route to a Vegas bodybuilding contest. From the very beginning it’s obvious that she’s a woman who’s endured much trauma and pain in her relatively short lifetime.
The themes of hopelessness, isolation, and alienation in relation to both Lou and Jackie’s lives is further reinforced during a scene in which the new couple have an argument while driving. After Jackie gets out of the truck and starts walking aimlessly down the street Lou follows her asking, “Hey where the fuck are you going?” Jackie counters with, “Where does it look like?” upon which Lou answers, “Nowhere”.
The film leaves a lot left unsaid in terms of the family back stories of both Lou and Jackie. What little we do see isn’t pretty but violent and brutal with Lou describing her father as “a piece of shit.” Her chief reason for remaining in this desperate life is primarily to protect and care for her sister Beth (played by Jena Malone) who suffers ongoing physical abuse at the hands of her sleazy husband JJ (Franco). Little is revealed in terms of Jackie’s family history except for the fact that she was adopted at 13 and was a fat kid who got bullied so took up bodybuilding in order to defend herself. Late in the film there’s also a brief yet heart rending scene in which in a moment of desperation Jackie calls her family one last time seeking their help, understanding and/or support but only finding more pain and rejection.
One particularly noteworthy scene which provides keen insight into Lou and Jackie both as individuals and in terms of their interpersonal dynamics as a couple features a particularly emotional moment when each character first gives voice to their deep feelings for one another. As they lay in bed following make-up sex Lou and Jackie both declare their love for one another speaking in hushed whispery tones as if sharing a daunting secret no one else can ever know. The intimacy of this scene, steeped in raw emotion, is portrayed not in a stereotypical way but rather as a deeply personal and profound moment of self-discovery, connection, and vulnerability.
As the film progresses Lou and Jackie find themselves both strengthened and at the same time hobbled by their intense feelings for one another. Each woman has her own individual horror stories but the intimate bond they share gives each a reason to strive to overcome the odds and escape their dreary otherwise joyless lives. Conversely, however, their dramatic union also results in both characters individually making rash decisions and taking drastic actions that they will come to regret later.
The supporting character of Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov) is interesting in terms of her role in relation to the overall themes explored throughout the film. Several times during Love Lies Bleeding, Daisy seems to appear out of nowhere like a ghostly apparition. Her character, who reeks of desperation and longing, might even be interpreted not as a real three-dimensional person but rather more akin to an imaginary figure à la Tyler Durden in Fight Club. Daisy, who is always alone, seems set apart from everyone else in the film except for her shaky relationship with Lou. Her presence in Love Lies Bleeding could perhaps be interpreted as serving as a kind of macabre Dickensian ghost symbolizing Lou’s past, present, and potential future. Her past relationship with Lou (or Lou Lou as she calls her) is established early on in the film during a scene in which Lou rejects Daisy’s sexual advances with the dismissive attitude of someone attempting to swat away a pesky fly. Lou’s reluctance to repeat past mistakes is obvious as she instead opts to reject Daisy and return to the lonely home she shares with her cat. Lou only gives in to Daisy’s advances later on in the film when she thinks Jackie’s welfare may be at stake.
Daisy represents the bleak and unhealthy state of Lou’s present reality wherein she finds herself stuck in a menial dead-end job, dealing with obnoxious gym patrons, trying to care for her abused sister, and having as little as possible to do with her criminal father (Harris). Her presence might also be a premonition of an even bleaker and more hopeless future yet to come for Lou if she continues onward down her current life path. Daisy’s symbolism as the ghost of a future yet to come is fully realized during the final sequence of Love Lies Bleeding when Lou takes matters into her own hands, rejecting her seemingly preordained future, and instead opting for an unknown future with Jackie.
It’s not pretty and about as far away from a fairy tale romance as possible but Love Lies Bleeding is essentially a poignant, visceral, and raw lesbian love story about two lost and broken souls who find one another despite all the obstacles life, family, and a homophobic society throws their way. Their strength together is metered only by the pain which all too often goes hand in hand with sharing a deep connection with another human being and allowing yourself to be risk being vulnerable. Love Lies Bleeding definitely deserves a look but be warned it’s not for the squeamish. Love strikes hard indeed.
Love Lies Bleeding is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads. It’s available for purchase on Apple TV, Amazon Video, and Cineplex and can be rented on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, FlixFling, & Cineplex online.
