After the incredibly promising Saint Maud, whatever Rose Glass was to do next was always going to be on my radar, so when we finally received information on Love Lies Bleeding, the excitement I was getting another Glass film was only bolstered by the audaciousness of the premise and the simple pleasures of the cast and the vibe the trailer oozed. Love Lies is a different beast to Saint Maud in many ways however still works in the same mould as a piece of genre fare that is fuelled by a visual bizzarity and experimental focus for the visceral that makes Love Lies just as successful a piece of work as Glass’s first effort and yet another signifier for someone to seriously watch.
Glass with her co-writer Weronika Tofilska have strove with Love Lies Bleeding to make a fierce and sharp neo-noir with very little fat on its bones, pardon the pun, and have succeeded majorly. Although I do have certain qualms with the overall pacing and some of the final more experimental choices made in the film, I can state firmly that with her second feature Glass has made yet another joyously thrilling and surprising film. The script itself is a frequently shifting and surprising piece of pulp crime mixed with an addiction sub-plot regarding steroids and a lesbian romance, that all balances so wickedly well into a melting pot of pulp, queer storytelling and pure crime elements. Glass imbues her strengths in horror into this film, however reveals new strengths with a tact for romance and sensuality, aswell as crime and family drama. There are the elements of obsession and surrealism that were visible in Maud, but for the most part Love Lies Bleeding is a more stripped back affair. ‘For the most part’ having one very large caveat near the end of the film that I will touch on in my postscript. The handling of tone is so stellar here that Glass really does solidify themselves as a very promising film-maker, one film away from the shift to a consistently successful presence.
The film boasts
a series of brilliant performances; ranging from the small and acute ensemble
turns of Jenna Malone and Dave Franco who both make big impressions wither their
sub-plot characters, to Anna Baryshnikov who with very few moments makes an
even bigger impression perfectly populating Glass’s world of peculiarities. Ed
Harris is of course a standout here as a threatening and imposing devil-like
figure who never on screen does anything of too much terror and yet still
manages to instil a great horror to his actions and overall persona. Kristin
Stewart is brilliant as always, somewhat here playing closer to her grizzled yet
vulnerable persona that I have always felt has been unfairly maligned, here it
is imbued with the same craft and subtlety that she manages to bring all of her
roles. But it is Katy O’Brian’s stunning breakthrough turn as Jackie that gives
the film its core, as she begins to fall deeper and deeper into an addiction to
the steroids she has begun taking – it’s difficult, physical and primal work
that so often gives way to a touching softer side that is just as impactful. It’s
a startingly great performance that demands a very specific thing indeed and
Katy pulls it off beautifully. All of this stellar work is punctuated by another
brilliant score by Clint Mansell, frequently shocking and impactful editing by
Mark Towns and some stunning cinematography by Ben Fordesman, all leading to Love
Lies Bleeding being one of the most instantly enjoyable films of the year
whilst also being a peculiar beast in its’ own right.
A visceral and bold 8/10 that grabs one by the scruff and goes for a sexual, thrilling and shocking crime journey. Great characters played by great actors with surprises and inevitabilities that all lead into a twisting neo-noir fuelled by a primeval engine of impulse. Stewart, Harris and especially O’Brian all wow and in their own ways are all beyond perfect for Glass’s creations. Glass has made yet another exciting filmic effort and it is in both the similarities and differences between this and Saint Maud that she clearly propels herself into a very exciting league of burgeoning British feature film-makers.
SPOILER P.S. I’m in I think on the big shift that happens later on the film, however I do have to say on a first glance it did strike one as ridiculous and a step too far. As time goes by and as the visual settles in my mind, I think I’m all in and see it as signifier for Glass’s bold visual flare.
- Thomas Carruthers
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