Monday, April 29, 2024

My Review of Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

 


Written by Rose Glass And Weronika Tofilska
Directed by Rose Glass 

Jackie (to Lou): "Anyone can feel strong hiding behind a piece of metal. I prefer to know my own strength."

Watching this film, I couldn't help but think of the movie Bound. I mean, I'm not saying this movie a rip off but it did feel like it was very similar to it, tonally at times.

In this movie, set in 1989, we had gym manager Louise "Lou" Langston (Kristen Stewart). When she wasn't gently rebuffing advances from local girl Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov), she was finding herself in the crosshairs of new girl Jackie (Katy O'Brian) and it was a romance that cause of chaos for everyone involved.

Yes, we learned quickly that Jackie was into bodybuilding and had not only gotten a job at Lou's (Ed Harris) shooting range but that her new employer was her girlfriend's father and that was the least of it. Jackie also had sex with Louise's brother in law J.J. (Dave Franco) to boot.

Those things alone should've been enough to have derailed Lou and Jackie as a potential pairing but there was more to come. Notably Jackie losing it as she got addicted to steroids and yeah, J.J. also getting murdered by her after Louise complained about him abusing her sister, Beth (Jena Malone).

The rest of the move just got crazier as it went along. We had Louise and Jackie trying to get rid of J.J's body, Daisy trying to blackmail Louise into a relationship and Lou trying to kill both Jackie and his daughter. Oh and that wasn't even the weirdest thing to happen in a very weird film.

The weirdest thing would be Jackie going all gigantic during a scene where Louise came close to taking out her own father. I have no idea how or why that moment even happened in the movie and it sort of took me out of the film. As for the ending, yeah, I saw that coming. 

- Ed Harris's dodgy looking hair was actually down to him. 
- Katy O'Brian used to be a competitive bodybuilder and heard about the role through a recommendation on social media 
- Standout music: Harald Großkopf 1847 - Earth and Nona Hendryx Transformation. 
- Chronology: The movie was set in 1989 and was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

For the most part, I liked Love Lies Bleeding but it's definitely for a niche crowd and only them. It's just too out there as a flick to generate a wide enough appeal or even be fodder for memes. Saying that, it's worth a watch.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

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