REVIEW #368 Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

Lou, a reclusive gym manager, falls for Jackie and aspiring bodybuilder but their romance soon leads to violence as they are pulled into Lou’s family drama.

Love Lies Bleeding explores the lengths people will go to for love, whilst highlighting the dangers of the bodybuilding industry through protagonist Jackie. Rose Glass approaches steroid use, using a clear visual representation of the body being manipulated by drugs, which plays a huge role in the sudden violent turn in the movies storyline. Although that approach gives a trippy feel to the movie, it does work well in making the effects clear to the audience. The only point at which that became a little too much was the ending where they essentially made Jackie a giant, that took it too far and it ruined the climax of the story for me. Kristen Stewart and Katy M. O’Brien performed really well and their chemistry was evident throughout, then you chuck in the quirkiness of Ed Harris’s antagonist and it made for an interesting story of romance and crime. It depicted the late 80’s well and as with most A24 movies, the cinematography was strong too. Does it rank within their best productions? I don’t think so, partly due to some of the films creative choices, not all movies have to have some weird trippy element to them and this film is evidence of the rather thin line between positive creativity and creativity taken too far.

Overall (7/10)

Thanks for reading.

Callan