#SUNDANCE: “LOVE LIES BLEEDING” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore

Love Lies Bleeding is a captivating Queer Romance Neo-Noir with brutal violence and an indelible beating heart.

Writer-Director Rose Glass’ follow-up to her beloved debut feature Saint Maud, follows reclusive gym employee Lou (Kristen Stewart) who falls hard for Jackie (Katy O’Brian), an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Las Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence that pulls them into the web of Lou’s criminal family.

It’s set in a desert town in rural New Mexico in ‘89. Gun ranges are common, and owning guns is even more prevalent. Corruption is simple, you pay off the cops. This is precisely how Lou’s father Lou Sr. (performed brilliantly by an eerie hair-extension-wearing Ed Harris) has gotten away with his criminal enterprise.

The Film’s central question is: what would you be willing to do for love? For Lou and Jackie, who’re head-over-heels, they’d do anything. Including kill. In this regard, Love Lies Bleeding is reminiscent of True Romance and Natural Born Killers all while executing a cinematic style that’s all Glass’ own. The Script, which Glass co-wrote with Weronika Tofilska, is loaded with raw sex, brutal violence, and a story about true love.

The Film’s succeas lies in its Cast selling this wild ride. And each one is fully committed. O’Brian gives a star-making turn as the American Dreamer with a big heart that has led her to some violent situations. Stewart is magnetic as a woman with a bubbling anger inside who is finally found someone to become smitten by. She makes you hang on to her every move.

A24/VVS Films release Love Lies Bleeding in cinemas on March 8, 2024.

Love Lies Bleeding screens at Sundance ’24:

Jan 20 at 10:00 PM at Eccles Theatre

Jan 21 at 9:00 PM at Redstone Cinemas – 1

Jan 22 at 9:30 PM at Rose Wagner Center

Jan 25 at 8:00 PM at Library Centre Theatre

Jan 27 at 11:00 PM at The Ray Theatre