By Jan Hestmann
Somewhere in the USA in the late 1980s, Lou (Kristen Stewart) works in a fitness studio. Not much experience here – until the day Jackie (Katy O’Brian) suddenly shows up. Jackie is a bodybuilder and she’s going through it. His goal: a bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas. Things soon begin to sour between Lou and Jackie. Jackie moves in temporarily with Lou;
But it shouldn’t stay that way for long. Because Lou’s relatives bring them a lot of trouble. Her father (Ed Harris) owns the local shooting ranch and is involved in many crooked things. Of all people, Jackie starts working for him to earn a little extra money for her trip. And then there’s Lou’s sister (Jena Malone), who is regularly beaten by her husband (Dave Franco). Lou and Jackie soon find themselves caught between all realms. At the same time, Jackie tries to prepare for the competition and then injects herself with steroids that Lou offers her.
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Ed Harris with a memorable skull as the owner of the shooting ranch
“Love Lies Bleeding” is an unusual love film by British director Rose Glass that takes several turns into darker realms. A relentless road trip that develops into a small town noir thriller, fast paced and bloody. And at its core it is a film about body culture and self-empowerment.
Mullets, mullets and skullet
Because the film is set in the late 1980s, it is given a nice visual detail: millets as far as the eye can see. Kristen Stewart throws the millet, Dave Franco throws the millet. And what is Ed Harris really up to? Bald at the top, extra long at the back – a skullet, so to speak! The strange hairstyle suits his role as a villain almost cartoon-like.
You might think the hairstyles in “Love Lies Bleeding” were worth a trip to the cinema. But there are also great acting performances – Kristen Stewart is excellent as always, but also Katy O’Brian’s, who also appears in this summer’s great “Twisters”. Or Ed Harris.
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Director and screenwriter Rose Glass clearly enjoys mixing genres, oddities – and, above all, unusual displays. She has already proven this in her directorial debut “Saint Maud”, a horror film from 2019. In any case, the strange ending of “Love Lies Bleeding” could divide the audience. If you’re expecting a typical thriller romance, you’re in the wrong place here. But it’s the extra crazy and unpredictable that makes “Love Lies Bleeding” the crazy summer love story we want.