I prefer to know my own strength

Continuing my trip up Empire's top 20 films of 2024

#12 :  Loves Lies Bleeding

After her slow, unsettling debut Saint Maud, Rose Glass ups the ante with the riotous, pulpy, queer crime thriller Love Lies Bleeding. Kristen Stewart steps into a role she was born to play as gym manager Lou, who falls for bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O’Brian, also perfectly cast) when she rolls through town preparing for a competition — but as the pair become more entwined, so too does Lou’s family drama with her abused sister (Jena Malone) and menacing, gun-toting father (Ed Harris). Sex, drugs and violence are combined with Glass’ signature supernatural tinges and magical realism, all set in the sweaty, dusty Albuquerque desert of the ‘80s. Stewart and O’Brian’s chemistry is off the charts, the trippy sequence at Jackie’s bodybuilding contest is one for the ages, and there are enough twists, turns and shocks along the way to keep you on the edge of your seat. Might even encourage you to start doing some regular bicep curls.

I had heard of this one on account of the good reviews it got and I also very much enjoyed Saint Maud, so I'm looking forward to this.

Well, what a peculiar film this is. At its heart, it's a reasonably straightforward thriller (the exact details of which I'm not at liberty to tell you) and it's a pretty decent one, with some nice Tarantinoesque twists. And it's like that for most of the film, but every so often "supernatural tinges and magical realism" take over and things get very trippy indeed (and in places, quite nasty).

Considering this is Rose Glass's second film, it's weird how different it is from Saint Maud - that has a very provincial English feel to it, but this has a very small-town US feel to it, with some quite Lynchian scenes thrown in for good measure. Both of them are very assured pieces of film-making - there's no doubt she's made the film she wants to make here even if, at times, it makes absolutely no sense at all.

Kristen Stewart is very good in it - she has quite the journey in this and you believe in her all the way. Katy O'Brien also has quite the journey although hers is slightly less beilevable - I can't explain how without serious spoilers, but if you've seen it then you'll know what I mean. Ed Harris is also great in this as a proper sleazy baddie - and his final scene with Katy is quite something (and well filmed). I'm also going to call out Jena Malone who plays Lou's sister - not because she has a lot to do in this (other than wear some horrible prosthetics) but because I recognised her, but had to check IMDB to remind me she was Gretchen in Donnie Darko, which came out 24 years ago now!

I enjoyed this (although I preferred Saint Maud), but I'd struggle to wholeheartedly recommend it because I think a lot of people would hate it due to its schlocky, genre-twisty nature. However, I think even the haters would agree it's well acted and shot and maybe even grudgingly accept that it's well written, despite being completely bonkers at times. So if you fancy a "good" film that you might hate, it's available to stream on Amazon Prime or to rent in all the usual other locations. 

#11 - Intriguingly bonkers
#13 - Good-looking European whimsy

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