Rose Glass’ sophomore feature Love Lies Bleeding continues the weird sapphic energy from her previous film Saint Maud in spectacular fashion. The film follows the whirlwind romance of reserved gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart) and current drifter, aspiring bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O’Brian) as the tightening grasp of Lou’s father Lou. Sr. (Ed Harris) threatens to expose both Lou and Jackie’s worst habits. Under the guise of a Cohen-esque crime thriller, Glass weaves a surreal tale of lesbian eroticism and self-actualization littered with jaw-dropping narrative twists and insane visuals.
Most of Glass’ crew from Saint Maud–notably cinematographer Ben Fordesman and editor Mark Towns–returned for a second round. The same trippy visuals and manipulation of space and color that defined Glass’ debut feature return in full force. In some ways, these elements thrive more as the crew moved away from dreary interiors to the wide expanses of the American Southwest. The crew use the beautiful natural colors of Albuquerque to really set the mood: the reds and oranges of the sand emphasize the prevalent themes of lust, desire, and unbridled rage. The sprawling, endless roads punctuated by the tiny town seem to expand as Lou Sr.’s overwhelming power within the town and over Lou becomes more apparent and the bodies start piling up.
However, the crime part of “erotic crime thriller” hasn’t been the driving interest in the movie; of course the crime thriller was part of the marketing effort, but not to the degree of the appeal of freaky (positive) lesbianism and bodybuilding. We are in an age of loving buff women–look at Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair’s followings for reference–and Jackie certainly nails that specific niche. However, Jackie isn’t just a wall of muscle and is a flawed, vulnerable woman seeking for a place to be seen and appreciated. First-time actress O’Brien effectively communicates these layers of nuance and matches up with her co-stars: particularly Dave Franco in the tone-switch of the film. That’s not to say Kristen Stewart doesn’t also stand out as the plucky butch to Jackie’s femme. Lou is the epitome of “weird butch with the strongest game you’ve ever seen”. Erotic in their ambiguity and secretiveness, Lou maintains a chill facade that gets chipped away until the sheer scope of their neuroses, family issues, and lack of emotional regulation are laid bare.
The specific nuances within Lou and Jackie’s U-Haul fling separate the romantic aspect, if it can be called romantic, from other contemporary lesbian romances. There’s no longing stares from across the supermarket or soft touches hidden under restaurant tables, just pure animal magnetism. Apart from the major sex scenes, taking place in period appropriate dingy and half-cleaned locations, and Jackie practicing her bodybuilding competition routine with Lou all but drooling in the background, there is hidden eroticism everywhere. From the subtlety of sharing a smoke break to disposing of evidence together to Lou injecting Jackie with steroids in shots clearly highlighting gender-transgressive penetration, Love Lies Bleeding sprinkles its moments of quiet with mesmerism and horniness. Even when Lou and Jackie’s relationship takes a quick turn for the worst, there’s hints of the same animal magnetism in their acts of violence. Sure when they turn their strongest emotions on each other it feels like a betrayal, but the unbridled emotions release a similar crackle as their more intimate moments. Violence, sex, and the liminal space in between get even blurrier as emotions continue to rise and by the end of the film the line is nonexistent.
Honestly, Love Lies Bleeding receiving a wide release might be the most shocking part about the film, which says a lot when Ed Harris slowly eating an expensive bug is barely worth a blink in the grand scheme of the film. Rose Glass had a vision for this film and it seems like the final product is totally uncompromised. The blend of surrealism, eroticism, and unbridled violence is certainly nothing new for queer genre films, but it’s certainly been a while since a film so brazen breached containment and hit wide release. And thank goodness it did.
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Red Broadwell is a first-year film studies MA student at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Their other work can be found at https://redbroadwell.journoportfolio.com
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