Thankfully, Love Lies Bleeding is not presented in smell-o-vision. If it were, it’d be rank with flop sweat and secondhand smoke, the “eau de late-80s/early 90s” if you will. Even odor-free, the neo-noir will make you feel plenty uncomfortable, beyond just looking at Ed Harris’s upsettingly long hair and Dave Franco’s greasy ‘stache.
There’s a lot to love in writer/director Rose Glass’s latest, provided you’re cool with cats lapping up blood and on-stage barfing. Glass and cowriter Weronika Tofilska hammered out a script that is not a literally a sexuality-skewed remake of True Romance, but its DNA is totes Tarantino-ish. The good kind of Tarantino-ish, not the N-word kind, just to be clear. Although there is some foot stuff…
Set in New Mexico in 1989, Love Lies Bleeding is anti-nostalgic. Its setting is an active reminder of noxious smells (see above) and repellant styles. Its premise is little more than a remix of underworld themes. Lou (Kristen Stewart) is a gym manager who meets Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a hitchhiking bodybuilder. The pair immediately revel in their addiction to each other, while Lou confronts her addiction to cigarettes and Jackie starts an addiction to steroids.
Jackie unknowingly goes to work at a gun range owned by Lou Sr (Harris), Lou’s dad and the grody crime boss of this Southwestern slum. When Jackie steps in to defend Lou’s sister, Beth (Jena Malone), from her abusive husband, JJ (Franco), things get very, very messy. As the FBI circle around Lou Sr like badge-wearing vultures, the pair of lovers must navigate dangers at every turn and Jackie’s problematic roid rage. Will she make it out in time for the bodybuilding contest in Vegas? Will Lou kick nicotine? Will anyone ever at any point take a shower or clean themselves in any way?
The answer to that last one is no. Sorry for the spoiler. And the characters aren’t the only ones who feel all dirty. The problem for a dork like me when watching a film like Love Lies Bleeding is that I struggle with largely irredeemable characters. I understand that flaws are necessary to draw our interest, but Lou and Jackie aren’t just selfish, they’re sociopaths. Unquestionably, large swaths of the target audience will find their union sultry and sexy, but I find myself wishing they’d straighten up. Straighten up their dangerously selfish behavior, that is. They can go bananas on each other all they want.
Glass is a hell of a director, there can be no argument to the contrary. Stewart is fully present here, demonstrating once again that when she’s dialed in, she’s magnetic. But the breakout is absolutely O’Brian, who is captivating and manic, frightening and mesmerizing in alternate reps. Cinematographer Ben Fordesman plays with her physique in a way that feels somehow empoweringly monstrous. She unapologetically takes up space, with her body driving the plot itself.
The gleeful repugnance isn’t accidental. Glass is very aware of what she’s doing, inviting viewers to identify and cheer for the couple, only to remind everyone of who they are explicitly in the film’s closing scene. From Clint Mansell’s grimy score to the tight-as-hell narrative, it only doesn’t fully work for me because of me.
I don’t love spending time with the baddies. And even if this is one of those classic “love is a hell of a drug” ruminations, those toothy tales never sink their fangs fully into me. To be clear, this is an outstanding film made exceptionally well. It just isn’t my favorite perfume.
Grade = B
Other Critical Voices to Consider
Sara Clements at Nerdspin says “Having two queer actresses, who are absolutely fire together, playing these characters isn’t the only thing that’s invigorating. It’s the depiction of female desire as something animalistic. It’s hot. It’s physical.”
Sarah Vincent at the Alliance of Women Film Journalists says “Erotic crime dramas are usually not funny, but Stewart’s line delivery of Lou’s brusque manner and the rhythm of some scenes lighten the serious-as-a-heart-attack proceedings.”
Kristy Puchko at Mashable says “There are movies that grab you by the throat. There are movies that punch you in the gut. Love Lies Bleeding is both, and I fucking love it.”