Movie Breakdown: Love Lies Bleeding
Pre-Screening Stance:
Love Lies Bleeding has one of those all-out electric trailers that always riles me up whenever I come across it. Hopefully the film delivers.
Post-Screening Ramble:
Where Dune: Part Two is the first great blockbuster of 2024, Love Lies Bleeding is the first great small film of the year. The story is centered around Lou (Kristen Stewart) and Jackie (Katy O’Brian), two young ladies who come across each other at a gym and then inadvertently end up in a relationship together. At first, everything is great – Lou’s dead-end existence gets a shot of life and Jackie lands a partner who can help her achieve her goals as a body-builder – but it isn’t long before their newfound bond gets pushed to its limits, as neither of them are able to escape the many skeletons that are in their closets.
Love Lies Bleeding is certainly a neo-noir thriller at heart, but it’s also subtly funny, violent, and infused with some creative touches of surrealism. This all swirls together in a way that not only makes the film feel fresh and different, but it also keeps you on the edge of your seat since you’re never really sure where it may go next. Stewart is, of course, great in it, but I was really impressed with O’Brian, who has to be equal parts physically imposing and vulnerable because her character Jackie is just as upbeat and focused as she is emotionally unhinged and reckless. Also, kudos to Ed Harris – his deranged father figure/gun range owner Lou Sr. owns the screen whenever he’s on it. And to a slightly lesser degree, so does Anna Baryshnikov’s Daisy, who seems like a total burnout but she’s actually a sharp little schemer. Man, what a movie.
Love Lies Bleeding is in theaters as of today, March 15. Go see it right away.
One Last Thought:
As I was watching this movie I just could not figure out where I’d previously seen Katy O’Brian before … and it’s The Mandalorian. Anyhow, that info will one day soon be a fun tidbit because I can only imagine how much work she’s going to get after such a great performance here.
