“Loves Lies Bleeding” is a gritty, queer and atmospheric entry into the A24 catalog, a movie with an overall great viewing experience, plot and passion behind it. Yet I feel this film leaves the audience desiring something, particularly towards its rushed, thematically mismatched and somewhat ‘shock for the sake of shock’ style ending.
The movie begins with Lou (Kristen Stewart), a secluded small-town gym manager with a mysterious, and dangerous, past. Her world entirely changes when she meets Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a bodybuilder who runs away from home with the goal of competing in Las Vegas. The two begin an intense relationship involving steroids, secrets and eggs (got to get those gains). The movie takes a dark twist, however, when Jackie’s steroid use begins to turn her into a much darker, rage-filled version of herself. This creature-like state of Jackie’s reacts brashly when Lou’s brother-in-law J.J. (Dave Franco) badly injures Lou’s sister, sending the women into a mess of murder, cover-up and conspiracy that all traces back to Lou’s past and her father (Ed Harris).
“Loves Lies Bleeding” is a crazy ride that had the audience hooked from start to finish, with so many good aspects that are essential to sing the praises of before getting into some of my more negative thoughts.
What stands out most to me about this movie is just how good it looks. The lighting and cinematography play a crucial role in establishing the setting and overall vibes, and they do so wonderfully. The gym scenes feel viscerally sweaty, dark and gross, the desert setting feels stiflingly hot and the competition scene literally made me stressed. The sound design and shot composition are refreshingly thought out and contribute directly to feelings of intense danger, claustrophobia and intimacy. It’s overall a beautiful movie to look at with a (mostly) clear direction.
The acting is also really masterful and fun to watch. It’s not news that Kristen Stewart has fully rehabilitated her acting image since the “Twilight” days, and that skill is on full display here as she has some of the most emotional moments in the movie. However, I felt the true performance standouts were O’Brian and Harris.
To start with O’Brian, Jackie is a tough character to portray. She’s single-minded to the point of almost being frustrating, drifting from place to place with no real loyalties at the beginning and making all the wrong choices. Yet O’Brian’s portrayal made me both understand the character, feel for her and continue to root for her, even when she makes absolutely idiotic decisions.
Lou’s father’s role in the story is introduced later in the plot, and it’s well worth the wait. Ed Harris’ acting is subdued and terrifying — he so convincingly plays the role of a master manipulator that he almost single-handedly drives the film toward the end. He’s such a visible creep that just his presence on screen feels off-putting in a fascinating way.
I also want to touch on the queer representation in this film. To put it simply, Lou and Jackie’s relationship was so refreshing to see on the big screen. These two are not the watered-down, nonoffensive gays or barely-seen, kiss-in-background queer women so often portrayed in movies, as studios are afraid to offend both those who want representation and those who are vehemently against it.
Lou and Jackie are messy, complicated and different — they fight and argue, and their dynamics closely reflect real-world queer relationships. Intimate scenes felt as if they had a queer woman behind them, not a male director attempting to get away with porn. Homophobia did not play a major role despite being set in an ’80s small-town Americana, which is a welcome relief from so many narratives set during this time. This relationship was simply fascinating to watch, the characters not driven by their queerness, but by their genuinely developed personalities and goals.
However, the plot, or more specifically the ending, is what deters me from giving this movie a higher rating. Without giving too much away, the end of this movie feels so rushed, tonally separate and just detached from the rest of the movie. This is intentional, clearly, but to the point that the story is trying too hard to elicit a reaction from the audience. The movie definitely has thematically different scenes before its conclusion, with some dark, morbid humor ramping up towards the end, but the final scene takes it to an extreme that just does not mesh with me. It all felt unnecessary and wrong for a relatively previously grounded narrative.
This was so extremely disappointing as I feel the realistic, gritty, and dangerous tones worked so well in this story. These aspects, as well as all of the narrative tension, was utterly wasted. There was so much potential of this being a truly impactful film and it was all thrown away for a some three-minute fever dream that just felt manufactured and random.
Ultimately, with a stronger ending, “Loves Lies Bleeding” would be a solid 4 star movie — it’s visually, directionally, and thematically strong, but is not revolutionary by any means. Yet, I feel the final minutes bring this down so significantly as they entirely cheapen the narrative. Overall, I would recommend the film to anyone wanting a snappy, visceral, campy and gay thriller who would be alright with an out-of-left-field and somewhat disappointing conclusion.
