Love Lies Bleeding

Love Lies Bleeding feels like it could be the start of something truly special from its initial frames. Immediately, my mind went to Drive, not because of any 1:1 similarities, but a combination of the aesthetics, music, and a "hunch".

And while Rose Glass's violent, roid-rage induced thriller is a blast, my hunch turned out to be wrong. Love Lies Bleeding is good, but it's not that good. 

It's interesting because it feels like the potential was there - and the end result is still a unique, entertaining ride - but somewhere along the way the screenplay gets a bit muddied down and loses steam. It's rare that a 104 minute film feels longer than that, but Love Lies Bleeding felt slightly over 2 hours even when it's not. 

We're introduced quickly to Lou (Kristen Stewart) cleaning toilets at the gym she manages. The gym itself is straight out of the late 80s with inspirational messages like "Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body" plastered on the walls. Eventually Jackie (an absolutely jacked Katy O'Brian) comes into the picture and the two quickly fall in lust love. Eventually, there's a conflict with Lou's brother-in-law, and the film spirals from there. Early when Lou meets Jackie, she introduces her to steroids, eventually creating a roid-raged monster, of which the film puts an almost fantastical emphasis on that last word, "monster". The overall plot is a romanced birthed in shared violence with a strong emphasis on the characters of Lou and Jackie. This is a good thing thanks to standout performances by Stewart and O'Brian. Their romance is hot and heavy and while it's arguably rushed - and kind of becomes second fiddle at a couple points - they have enough acting prowess and chemistry to pull it off. 

The rest of the movie is generally well made, if not a little unbalanced in its focus, particularly once it gets dragged down into details about "who knows what" both in relation to present and past murders. It seems to get stuck circling the drain on these topics before getting to the finale, which is probably part of the reason it felt long. It's well edited, the cinematography can be good, the "monster" elements are a nifty, if not slightly weird, trick, and the soundtrack + original score is consistently one of the best parts about it. 

While I may not have loved A24's Love Lies Bleeding as much as the first few moments signaled to my gut, it's still a good time that feels fresh and has several performances that elevate the material, even if it loses its footing at times along the way. 

Rapid Rath's Review Score | 7/10