**This post contains spoilers**
The Story- Working as the manager at a local gym in New Mexico, Lou (Kristen Stewart) meets Jackie (Katy O’Brian), an aspiring bodybuilder. Lou finds happiness with Jackie during a rocky romantic relationship, but the sudden appearance of FBI agent O’Riley (Orion C. Carrington) disrupts Lou’s quiet lifestyle. Lou struggles to juggle murder, dead bodies, and tumultuous relationships with her father, Lou Sr. (Ed Harris), her sister Beth (Jena Malone), her husband, JJ (Dave Franco), and a kooky woman named Daisy (Anna Baryshinkov).
My Thoughts- Kristen Stewart believably plays a quirky and awkward young woman, who’s dealing with a lot. You can tell she wants to distance herself from her family, but she loves Beth too much to ignore her abusive relationship with JJ. Stewart also brings an emotional side to Lou. The weight of working a dead end job in a small and hopeless town is clearly crushing Lou’s spirit. But Lou is still willing to help others, while she navigates a lot of tricky paths in her own life. The big test? Lou has to choose between her family, standing up to her father, and her relationship with Jackie.
Jackie appears, and we’re not exactly sure what’s going on with her. Is she just a drifter and a shameless opportunist? Does she actually love Jackie? All the questions surrounding Jackie are definitively answered as the story progresses. Jackie is tough, she’s strong, and she doesn’t put up with bullshit. But you can also see someone, who’s hurting inside, because Jackie has a few vulnerable and emotional moments.
Katy O’Brian does an excellent job of portraying Jackie. She starts out as this happy and positive lady, who’s determined to chase her dreams. But she gets sucked into a whirlwind of chaos, as she struggles to hold herself together before she completely cracks.
Jackie and Lou together? Well, there’s no denying it’s a toxic relationship. Jackie ran away from her hometown, chasing a new life. Lou is miserable. She hates her father, she misses her mother, and Lou knows there’s a low ceiling for her future, if she doesn’t leave New Mexico.
It’s love at first sight, when Jackie walks into the gym, but things go downhill quickly, when Lou gives Jackie steroids. Jackie quickly spirals out of control, but Lou NEVER gives up on her. The romance between Lou and Jackie is truly one of Love Lies Bleeding’s greatest strengths, filled with turbulent ups and downs. And kudos to Katy O’Brian for shifting gears to a more frazzled and angry version of Jackie during the ‘roid rage fits.
Ed Harris does it again with another good performance. Lou Sr. is a mean and crusty old bastard, a devious manipulator, who won’t stop until he gets what he wants. On top of all that, Lou Sr. is oddly fascinated with bugs. Harris plays a powerful man, but it’s hard to ignore the truth: Lou Sr. is a relic of the past. He’s an old man, who’s desperately clinging on to the power of being a big fish in a small pond, because without his status as a scary big shot, his life is empty. It’s kind of sad and pathetic, when you step back and look at the big picture.
Hats off to Dave Franco for his performance. JJ is scum. He’s a cheater, he beats his wife, JJ is a sniveling coward, AND it’s revealed he’s an informant for the FBI. Franco does a fantastic job with JJ’s body language, his demeanor, and some good facial expressions. You can take one look at JJ, and you’ll instantly know this guy is a bad dude, with a cold and nasty mean streak.
It’s almost impossible to not feel any sympathy for Jena Malone’s Beth, a caring mother and a dedicated wife. She takes care of everything around the house, but she’s married to a monster. They don’t actually show JJ beating Beth, but the aftermath is equally horrifying. The scars, the bumps, the bruises, and Beth lying in a hospital bed with that huge knot on her face is an unpleasant sight. Also, the dinner date scene with JJ, Beth, Lou, and Jackie is genuinely uncomfortable to watch. You can feel the awkward tension at the table, and the situation reaches a boiling point, when JJ overreacts after Beth accidentally drops food on his lap.
Anna Baryshinkov could’ve stole the show here with more screen time. Daisy is a nutty and obsessive stalker. The lovey-dovey feelings she has for Lou are not reciprocated. She loves Lou, she’s willing to do anything to have a relationship with her, but Lou can’t stand Daisy. The mere sight of Daisy annoys Lou to the point, where it’s easy to believe she disgusts Lou. To top it off, Daisy’s story has an unfortunate ending before the credits start rolling.
Jackie, as a GIANT, pulverizes Lou Sr.! It’s a bizarre ending. Yes, Lou Sr. got what he deserved, and I’m glad Lou didn’t pull the trigger. She obviously wanted her father to rot in prison, because killing him would’ve been too easy. A small part of me was hoping for a more serious tone during Lou Sr.’s beat down. Lou Sr. was truly an evil man. He deserved to suffer, but Giant Jackie playing around with Lou Sr., while Lou watches with a smile on her face crossed the line for being too silly for me.
Although, I guess you have to look at the ending through Lou’s eyes. She deeply loves Jackie, and it’s obvious Lou admires her. For Lou, Jackie is someone, who’s larger than life itself, so it makes sense that she sees Jackie as a giant, who’s beating the crap out of her father, a man, who’s directly responsible for a lot of heartache in Lou’s life.
To add to that, I have to believe steroids played a big part in Jackie’s hallucinogenic transformations. Going back to the scene, where Jackie brutally murders JJ, you’ll notice Jackie is taller, towering over JJ’s mangled corpse.
Rose Glass’ work behind the camera is just phenomenal. Love Lies Bleeding looks and feels like a hypnotic fever dream. So many shots with great details, and the small New Mexico town is a perfect setting for this one. Lou’s hometown is a desolate and quiet hellhole out in the middle of nowhere. It’s a dreary and depressing place that kills any hopes and dreams. Escape is the only way to make it, because it’s a town that’s populated by too many people, who are stubbornly stuck in their own ways, and the bad guys hold too much power.
I’m also glad they didn’t lean into 80’s nostalgia too much. It’s a more subtle approach with the wardrobes, the hairstyles, the cars, and the phones. I can clearly see the movie is set in the 80’s, without constant in-your-face reminders in every scene, or every other scene. That’s enough for me.
Love Lies Bleeding fires on all cylinders. It works as a crime drama, it works as a thriller, and there’s some good black humor during the final moments of the movie. The overall cast is excellent. Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian share great chemistry as two people, who are willing to do anything for each other, no matter how risky the consequences are after the smoke clears.
A bloody and strange fairy tale filled with violence and some gruesome gore, Love Lies Bleeding lives up to its title by delivering a wild and chaotic love story. Lots of bumpy ups and downs for Lou and Jackie, setbacks that should’ve marked the point of no return for both women.
Going with the happy ending was the right move. Why? Because after all the bloodshed, the betrayals, and dealing with messy family drama, it’s safe to say Lou and Jackie truly earned their freedom from Lou Sr., a man who’s clearly hell-bent on being a tyrant and a nasty control freak. And there’s always a chance Jackie will get another shot at entering a different bodybuilding competition!
Rating- 9/10
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