With only two films under her belt, English writer-director Rose Glass has left a tremendous impression on the cinematic landscape due to her devil-may-care, genre-defying depictions of infatuation and loss of control. Sometimes, you may feel that her films take on the form of themes in the most chaotic manner. However, they tend to culminate in rather controlled yet brutal pieces of work. This time around, Rose Glass blesses us with “Love Lies Bleeding,” a blend of neo-noir with romantic intricacies and Grindhouse crime-thriller aesthetics, yet with a Frankenstein’s monster twist. Her latest project yet again demonstrates the deftness in her maneuvers behind the camera. The English filmmaker easily entangles genres and atmospheres without ever feeling bloated or deviant. If you genuinely want to see something that is equally different and enthralling, you have to check this out.
Staring into the Stars, A Glance into the Abyss
We are introduced to “Love Lies Bleeding” with an ominous sound. The camera is looking into the stars. These couple of seconds hint at the eternal possibilities the characters have set in their minds. But knowing that Glass’ films cross into horrific, fierce territories, I know that things aren’t going to go how they want things to be. This tale will worsen as the seconds go by. After this limited daze into the dark sky, where a shooting star grazes the introductory credits, we enter Crater Gym, accompanied by Clint Mansell’s pulsating score and the sweat and adrenaline pouring from the people working out. You immediately sense the cinematic stimulation running down your spine. Only a few minutes into her latest work, Rose Glass wants the viewer to remember that feeling.
The film is set in a city in New Mexico during the late ’80s. It is a distanced town filled with lonely people looking for a way out of their mundane lives. One of the lonesome townsfolk is Lou (Kristen Stewart), a chopped-up mullet-wearing woman who smokes away the pain. The only reason she is still in that near desert town is to look after her sister Beth (Jena Malone), whose husband, JJ (Dave Franco), is abusing her. She’s the manager of Crater Gym. Basically, her job is to keep the gym clean and running for its members. But there’s also the local steroid ring that’s currently taking course. We see her as one of the many pondering how to make their lives have meaning beyond that point. Lou has many things on their mind.
She can try relocating to another place or staying with a partner who may help them clear their mind, like her clingy coworker Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov). However, even with her company, she is disinterested in it all. As the narrative develops, we notice that there’s more to her story than what you may initially realize. And it all begins once Lou lays her eyes on Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a jacked bodybuilder from Oklahoma who has her eyes on the stars—searching for glory in the iron-pumping world. It only took them a few seconds to forge a deep, emotional connection. Their bond is so rapidly tight that it feels as if they were soulmates. During the first act, it feels like a “Thelma and Louise”-like relationship. But sooner rather than later, this bond goes into “Bound” territory. The crime world slowly devouring its space in the world.
A Love Story With Blood, Sweat, and Violence
Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian have tremendous chemistry with one another, and their passion is tangible. They make you care for both of them, even with their respective poor decisions during the story’s development. The two actresses add delicateness to their performances, yet they also demonstrate their character’s anger with some genuine force. While Lou and Jackie may have begun their respective journeys alone, this union will save them. Even though the characterization at the latter end of the film is missing a few details to make it wholly effective, Glass makes sure that the viewer feels every emotion running through their minds—the angst, worry, agony, and despair that they endure upon each step taken in this cruel world hidden in plain sight. The tangibilities of their ever-shifting relationship make their dynamics with one another genuinely fascinating.
Since the two actresses live and breathe their roles, the story is more affluent than its flashiness, although that element is magnetic and magical by itself. Their tale of romance immediately crashes down when Jackie acts rashly against JJ, who leaves his wife unconscious in a hospital bed. Absorbing Lou’s resentment and angst like a sponge, Jackie transmitted those emotions to each punch, killing JJ in the process. When Lou finds out about what happened, they decide to act quickly, trying to leave no traces behind and burning his body via a makeshift “car accident”. This act of violence gets the attention of Lou’s estranged father, Lou Sr. (Ed Harris). He begins to search for the culprit, as JJ is his associate. And the gunman immediately lands on his daughter and her girlfriend as the targets.
Rose Glass and Her Genre-Crossing Awe-Aspiring Abilities
A hunt is now in place. And both Lou and Jackie are in deep trouble if they don’t play his games. With everything against them, will the two manage to get away from these troubles? Saying that Rose Glass does a lot in “Love Lies Bleeding” is an understatement. The English writer-director crams many cinematic elements from both the past and present to curate a unique, captivating experience. From Glass’ pet topics of transformation through obsession to the schizoid genre-crossings in each act, her sophomore feature tends to distance itself from each connotation you can pinpoint while embracing its essence. We get glimpses of Jackie’s emotional and physical ‘Frankenstein’-like transmutation enhanced by steroids and devotion. Then, a couple of seconds later, Glass gives us some occasional surrealistic swings inspired by David Lynch’s “Lost Highway,” red things and everything.
Both of these storytelling devices yield striking images from Cinematographer Ben Fordesman. The former develops in a manner many won’t see coming, referring to another David’s work, Cronenberg, via body-horror elements. This slowly-building monstrosity is a gateway for her themes of addiction and obsession. Meanwhile, the latter adds tension and foreboding to these characters’ worlds. These quick scenes bring the crime underbelly to life. We see this through the lens of the abyss, where bodies lie to rest via cruel means. It is impressive how Glass cuts these surrealistic scenes with the more grounded ones. “Love Lies Bleeding” is the work of not only a genre cinema admirer but also one of a remarkably assured and bold visionary filmmaker.
There’s some deftness to how Rose Glass weaves each genre she wants to entangle. It is an arduous task to try and combine crime-thriller, romance, and body horror with one another without feeling out of place or crammed together forcefully. Even when the film goes down a cranked, chaotic route of no return, it maintains a singular vision. The rabbit hole runs deep. And it is easy to get lost in the maneuver that Glass is concocting. But the process in which she does so is so effortlessly hypnotic. Just like she did with “Saint Maud,” she takes as much as she can cinematically and gives us more than we could ask for, even when you think the film might go on a more simplistic route.
“Love Lies Bleeding” hits select U.S. theaters on March 8th, 2024, with an expansion coming on March 15th.
