“Love Lies Bleeding,” an A24 film directed by Rose Glass of “Saint Maud” fame and written by both Glass and Weronika Tofilska, follows Lou (Kristen Stewart) as she navigates living a life separate from her criminal father, Lou Sr. (Ed Harris) as she falls in love with a bodybuilder named Jackie (Katy O’Brian).
Stewart gives arguably her best performance of all time. Her character building for Lou presents a complex woman navigating her future while being chased by the past caused by her father’s actions. She possesses a dynamic range of emotions throughout the entire film, and her infatuation with Jackie allows us to catch a glimpse at the soft interior beneath the hardened shell of her external emotions.
O’Brian also does an excellent job. Her portrayal of a rageful bodybuilder seeking validation in winning a muscle competition makes her a compelling character compounded. This is built upon even further when she begins taking steroids, and her anger becomes ‘roid rage. O’Brian also does an excellent job making Jackie easy to empathize with, as audiences want success for her in both her relationship with Lou and her future career as a bodybuilder.
The lighting of the film feels highly purposeful. Lighting isn’t just utilized to make the scene clearer and more visible to the eye, but it’s also to tell the story and showcase the characters’ emotions. Lou’s father, an illegal arms dealer, used Lou and her mom to aid him in his endeavors, which led Lou to leave her aspirations in the past. Every time these flashbacks occur, dark red lighting pierces through the darkness, but when Lou breaks away from her father, it makes a drastic shift to blue, emphasizing her independence. It’s clever lighting changes like these that elevate the story being told.
The script treats Lou and Jackie’s love story like any other, which works in its favor as most films tend to rely on tropes and come off as offensive when it comes to crafting queer romance. Their relationship also feels incredibly grounded in comparison to other romance films that tend to heighten the stakes for the purpose of entertainment. Audiences will see the genuine care and attraction these characters have for each other in comparison to other romance movies that have come out within the last year that lack chemistry.
“Love Lies Bleeding” is easily one of the best films of 2024 thus far. Its characters are compelling, and it has a solid script that tells an enthralling love story with an energy similar to “Bonnie and Clyde.” Its purposeful lighting sells the experience by wrapping the visuals up with a nice and neat bow. Audiences will feel regretful if they choose to skip this A24 entry altogether and should consider catching it in theaters before it leaves.
4 ½ ‘roid rages out of 5
