Love Lies Bleeding (2024 film)

Last updated

Love Lies Bleeding
Love lies bleeding poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Rose Glass
Written by
  • Rose Glass
  • Weronika Tofilska
Produced by
  • Andrea Cornwell
  • Oliver Kassman
Starring
CinematographyBen Fordesman
Edited byMark Towns
Music by Clint Mansell
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • A24 (United States)
  • Lionsgate (United Kingdom)
Release dates
  • January 20, 2024 (2024-01-20)(Sundance)
  • March 8, 2024 (2024-03-08)(United States)
  • May 3, 2024 (2024-05-03)(United Kingdom)
Running time
104 minutes [4]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$8.8 million [5] [6]

Love Lies Bleeding is a 2024 romantic thriller film directed by Rose Glass from a screenplay she co-wrote with Weronika Tofilska. It is a co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States. The film stars Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco, and Ed Harris. Set in 1989, its plot follows the relationship between a reclusive gym manager, who is part of a crime family, and an ambitious bodybuilder.

Contents

Love Lies Bleeding premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024, was released theatrically in the United States by A24 on March 8, 2024, and is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom by Lionsgate on May 3, 2024. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

In 1989, gym manager Louise "Lou" Langston meets and falls in love with a young woman, Jaqueline "Jackie" Cleaver who is a bodybuilder working out at her gym. Jackie, unbeknownst to Lou, has just gotten a job at a shooting range owned by Lou's estranged father, Lou Sr., after having sex with Lou's brother-in-law J.J. Jackie herself is a vagrant, passing through town on her way to a bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas. Lou offers her steroids, which Jackie initially hesitates but ends up using. The two soon have sex and Jackie asks to stay at Lou's apartment.

The pair have dinner with J.J. and Beth, Lou's sister, who does not fully realize his abusive actions. Lou defends Beth and threatens J.J. In return, J.J. tells Lou that he had sex with Jackie, which angers her. While driving home, Lou forces Jackie out of the car, mentioning she wants J.J. dead, but hurriedly lets her back in when two FBI agents arrive. The next day, at a hospital, Lou visits Beth, who has been admitted after J.J. had battered her; Lou Sr. arrives and promises to care for Beth. Jackie, emotionally unstable from spontaneous substance abuse, breaks into J.J.'s home and brutally beats him to death.

A distressed Lou arrives at the scene, admitting she did not actually want J.J. dead. The two drive his corpse and car into a ravine, where Lou formerly helped her father kill his business rivals and dispose of their bodies. On the way there, Lou's friend Daisy, who is infatuated with her, spots them and makes note of Jackie driving Lou's truck. Lou cleans up evidence of the murder while Jackie continues her steroid addiction, growing more agitated. Following an argument, Jackie wounds Lou, then leaves and hitchhikes to Las Vegas. During the competition, Jackie hallucinates vomiting a fully grown Lou due to steroid induced psychosis and contestants commenting on her weight. In reality, Jackie has vomited on the floor; in her psychosis, she assaults another contestant, which lands Jackie in jail.

Meanwhile, armed with full knowledge of J.J.'s murder, Daisy blackmails Lou into a relationship with her. Lou Sr. bails out Jackie and coerces her to kill Daisy, the sole witness to the murder, with a suppressed pistol. Lou and Daisy are just arriving at her apartment when Jackie shoots Daisy from behind. In a state of panic, Jackie returns to Lou Sr., only to be knocked unconscious. He tells Lou that he has arranged for Jackie to go to prison for double homicide, but she threatens to expose his operation if Lou Sr. does so, causing him to hang up in a rage.

As Lou is cleaning up Daisy's body, she is attacked by a figure whom she manages to fatally shoot, revealing the figure as a police officer on Lou Sr.'s payroll. Realizing her father aims to kill her, Lou bludgeons the officer with a gun and makes her way to his manor, where she encounters Beth who has learned about Lou's involvement with J.J.'s death. Beth denounces Lou, who accepts it before forcing Jackie's location from her. She frees Jackie and tells her to run, before being shot in the leg by Lou Sr. He reveals to Lou that her mother is not dead, but left due to their actions; Lou Sr. for his criminal business and Lou for helping him. Jackie arrives, having grown to gigantic size, and pins down Lou Sr. Lou shoves a gun into his mouth, but relents and leaves him for the police.

Lou and Jackie drive off, stopping the next morning when Lou realizes that Daisy is still alive in the truck bed despite her near-fatal wound; she nonchalantly strangles Daisy to death and dumps her body in a nearby field while Jackie sleeps.

Cast

Production

Love Lies Bleeding is a co-production between A24 and Film4. It is the second film to be directed by English filmmaker Rose Glass. Kristen Stewart first mentioned her involvement in the film in March 2022, as she was a fan of Glass' previous work, Saint Maud ; [9] her casting was confirmed in April. [1] Anna Baryshnikov, Katy O'Brian, Dave Franco, Ed Harris, and Jena Malone joined the cast in June. [2] [3] O'Brian said in an interview that she had to audition for the part, her first leading role, six times. [10]

Principal photography began in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in June 2022. [11] Production concluded by August 2022. [12]

Release

Love Lies Bleeding had its world premiere in the Midnight section at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024, [13] [8] followed by its European premiere on February 18 at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in the Berlinale Special Gala section. [14] The UK premiere was held at the Glasgow Film Festival on February 28. [15]

The film was released on five screens in New York City and Los Angeles by A24 on March 8, 2024, before expanding wide on March 15. [16] Lionsgate UK acquired the British distribution rights to the film in November 2023 [17] and will release it theatrically in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2024. [18] [19]

Reception

Box office

In its opening weekend the film made $276,618 from five theaters, a per-venue average of $55,324. [20] Expanding to 1,362 theaters the following weekend, the film made $2.5 million, finishing sixth at the box office. [21]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 94% of 205 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10.The website's consensus reads: "Lust and violence collide to powerfully pulpy effect in Love Lies Bleeding, a well-acted addition to writer-director Rose Glass' growing body of exceptional work." [22] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [23] Audiences polled by PostTrak gave the film a 78% overall positive score with an average 3.5 out of 5 stars. [21]

Manohla Dargis of the New York Times wrote that the film, likely influenced by the works of James M. Cain, Jim Thompson, David Lynch, and the Coen Brothers, "For the most part... manages to transcend its influences enough to remain engaging; sometimes it does something even more interesting with its reference points... Glass borrows liberally but not mindlessly." [24] Saffron Maeve, for the Toronto Star, gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, writing that "'Love Lies Bleeding' becomes increasingly convoluted [...] But this narrative estrangement is grounded in intention". [25]

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References

  1. 1 2 Kit, Borys (April 13, 2022). "Kristen Stewart to Star in Romantic Thriller Love Lies Bleeding for A24 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Grobar, Matt (June 16, 2022). "Dickinson's Anna Baryshnikov Joins Kristen Stewart In A24's Romantic Thriller Love Lies Bleeding From Director Rose Glass". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Kroll, Justin (June 28, 2022). "Dave Franco, Katy O'Brian, Ed Harris And Jena Malone Join Kristen Stewart In Love Lies Bleeding For A24". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Love Lies Bleeding (15)". BBFC . February 16, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Love Lies Bleeding (2024)". The Numbers . Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Love Lies Bleeding (2024)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  7. ↑ Vary, Adam B. (January 11, 2024). "How Kristen Stewart Became a Queer Trailblazer". Variety . Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Love Lies Bleeding". Sundance Film Festival . Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  9. ↑ Monagle, Matthew (March 12, 2022). "Kristen Stewart's Working With Saint Maud Director Rose Glass On Love Lies Bleeding". The Playlist. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  10. ↑ Katy O'Brian Had to Audition Six Times for Role Opposite Kristen Stewart in A24's Love Lies Bleeding , retrieved October 18, 2023
  11. ↑ Curran, Sarah (June 29, 2022). "Kristen Stewart Rocks A Mullet On Set Of 'Love Lies Bleeding'". ET Canada . Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  12. ↑ "New Mexico Film Office Announces Love Lies Bleeding Filmed in New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Film. August 15, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  13. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 6, 2023). "Sundance Unveils Packed 2024 Lineup That Includes A.I., Pedro Pascal, Kristen Stewart, Satan, Devo & Steven Yeun". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  14. ↑ Ntim, Zac (January 15, 2024). "Berlin: Martin Scorsese-Narrated Doc & Kristen Stewart Romantic Thriller Set For Festival Debuts". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Kristen Stewart Queer Noir 'Love Lies Bleeding' to Open Glasgow Film Festival". Variety. January 23, 2024.
  16. ↑ Goldsmith, Jill (March 8, 2024). "Thriller Love Lives Bleeding With Kristen Stewart, Glitter & Doom Romance With Indigo Girls Soundtrack, Open In Limited Release – Specialty Preview". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  17. ↑ Tabbara, Mona (November 1, 2023). "Lionsgate UK acquires Rose Glass thriller 'Love Lies Bleeding' starring Kristen Stewart (exclusive)". Screen International . Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  18. ↑ Travis, Ben (February 13, 2024). "Love Lies Bleeding Takes The 'Strong Female Character' Trope Literally: 'There's Something Punk About A Really Muscular Woman' – Exclusive Image". Empire . Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  19. ↑ "'Love Lies Bleeding' Brussels Premiere Marred by Homophobia, Toxicity and Violence: 'Things Spun Wildly Out of Hand'". Variety.
  20. ↑ Goldsmith, Jill (March 10, 2024). "China's 'Yolo' Busts Out Oscar Weekend, With 'Love Lies Bleeding'; 'The Taste of Things' At $2.7M – Specialty Box Office". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  21. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 17, 2024). "'Kung Fu Panda 4' Second Weekend At $31M+ Expected To Karate Chop Sandworm — Saturday AM Update". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Love Lies Bleeding". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved April 19, 2024. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  23. ↑ "Love Lies Bleeding". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  24. ↑ Dargis, Manohla (March 7, 2024). "'Love Lies Bleeding' Review: Kristen Stewart, Crazy (and Scary) in Love". The New York Times . Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  25. ↑ Star, Saffron Maeve Special to the (March 25, 2024). "Sex, steroids and Kristen Stewart — the much-hyped 'Love Lies Bleeding' is a sinister pulpy thriller". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
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