Love Lies Bleeding | |
---|---|
Directed by | Rose Glass |
Written by |
|
Produced by |
|
Starring | |
Cinematography | Ben Fordesman |
Edited by | Mark Towns |
Music by | Clint Mansell |
Production companies | |
Distributed by |
|
Release dates |
|
Running time | 104 minutes [4] |
Countries |
|
Language | English |
Box office | $12.8 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, and starring Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco, and Ed Harris. It is an international co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States. Set in 1989, the film's plot follows the lesbian relationship between a reclusive gym manager, who is part of a crime family, and an ambitious bodybuilder who gets wrapped up in organized crime.
Love Lies Bleeding premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024. It was released theatrically in the United States by A24 on March 8, 2024, and in the United Kingdom by Lionsgate UK on May 3, 2024. The film received positive reviews from critics and was named one of the Top Ten Independent Films of 2024 by the National Board of Review. [7]
In a rural New Mexican town in 1989, reclusive gym manager Lou manages relationships with her sister Beth, Beth's husband JJ, and flirtatious friend Daisy. One night while at the gym, Lou is approached by FBI agents in search of information about Lou's estranged father, Lou Sr., and his criminal ties. Shortly after, Lou meets Jackie, a bisexual bodybuilder staying in town while preparing for a competition in Las Vegas. Lou offers Jackie steroids to enhance her training and though she initially refuses, Jackie agrees. After a night of lovemaking, Jackie and Lou move in together. They fall in love over the following weeks as Jackie uses increasingly high doses of steroids during her training.
Jackie and Lou attend an awkward dinner with JJ and Beth, during which Lou threatens JJ over his abusive behavior towards Beth. In retaliation, JJ reveals he and Jackie had sex during her first night in town in exchange for a waitressing position at Lou Sr.'s gun range. Disgusted and angry, Lou tells Jackie that she wants to kill JJ because of his abuse of Beth, who is the only reason Lou hasn't left town.
The next day, Beth is hospitalized due to severe abuse inflicted by JJ. At the bedside, Lou Sr. promises to protect Beth and deal with JJ. Unable to contain her rage due to steroid use, Jackie secretly breaks into Beth and JJ's home and brutally beats the latter to death. Lou discovers JJ's body, and fearing Jackie will be arrested, plots to frame her father for the murder. With Jackie's help, Lou drives JJ's car and body into a ravine revealed to be a disposal site for the bodies of Lou Sr.'s various criminal enemies. The pair light the car on fire, creating a massive smoke plume that successfully attracts authorities to the site the following morning.
The next day, Lou returns to JJ and Beth's home to clean up evidence of the murder while Jackie continues her steroid use, growing more agitated. After an argument, Jackie leaves Lou and hitchhikes to Las Vegas for the bodybuilding competition. During her individual routine, Jackie hallucinates vomiting up a fully grown Lou before assaulting another contestant, leading to her arrest.
Meanwhile, armed with knowledge of Lou and Jackie's involvement with JJ's murder after spotting the duo driving to the ravine the night before, Daisy blackmails Lou into a relationship. After Daisy intercepts her phone call to Lou, Jackie contacts Lou Sr. to bail her out of jail. After doing so, Lou Sr. coerces Jackie to kill Daisy, the sole witness to the murder. After shooting Daisy at Lou's apartment, Jackie returns to Lou Sr., only to be knocked unconscious. Lou Sr. calls Lou and tells her that he has arranged for Jackie to take the rap for the deaths of JJ and Daisy, but Lou, who has helped her father kill in the past, announces her intention to cooperate with the FBI investigation if he sets Jackie up.
Lou Sr. sends a police officer on his payroll to kill Lou, but she overpowers him before driving to her father's home to rescue Jackie. At Lou Sr.'s manor, Beth, who has learned about her involvement with JJ's death, denounces Lou to her face. Lou finds and frees Jackie, but as they try to escape, Lou Sr. shoots Lou in the leg. Jackie, having grown to a gigantic size due to the steroid use, pins down Lou Sr., and Lou considers killing him before deciding to leave him for the police.
Lou and Jackie drive off. The next morning, Lou realizes that Daisy is still alive in the truck bed despite her near-fatal wound. She strangles Daisy and dumps her body in a nearby field while Jackie sleeps.
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 (2019); [10] 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. [11]
Principal photography began in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in June 2022. [12] Production concluded by August 2022. [13]
Love Lies Bleeding had its world premiere in the Midnight section at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024, [14] [9] followed by its European premiere on February 18 at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in the Berlinale Special Gala section. [15] The UK premiere was held at the Glasgow Film Festival on February 28. [16]
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. [17] Lionsgate UK acquired the British distribution rights to the film in November 2023 [18] and it was released theatrically in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2024. [19]
Love Lies Bleeding grossed $8.3 million in the United States and Canada and $4.2 million in other territories for a total of $12.5 million.
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]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 94% of 263 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 77 out of 100, based on 53 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]
Director John Waters ranked Love Lies Bleeding first in a list of his favorite movies of 2024, saying the "hilarious, bloody film noir is the best movie of the year, one that Russ Meyer might have made if he had been a lesbian intellectual addicted to steroids." [26]
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Astra Midseason Movie Awards | July 3, 2024 | Best Picture | Love Lies Bleeding | Nominated | [27] [28] |
Best Actress | Kristen Stewart | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actress | Katy O'Brian | Won | |||
Best Indie | Love Lies Bleeding | Won | |||
British Independent Film Awards | December 8, 2024 | Best British Independent Film | Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska, Andrea Cornwell, and Oliver Kassman | Nominated | [29] [30] |
Best Director | Rose Glass | Nominated | |||
Best Joint Lead Performance | Katy O'Brian and Kristen Stewart | Nominated | |||
Best Screenplay | Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska | Nominated | |||
Best Casting | Mary Vernieu and Lindsay Graham Ahanonu | Nominated | |||
Best Cinematography | Ben Fordesman | Won | |||
Best Costume Design | Olga Mill | Nominated | |||
Best Effects | James Allen | Nominated | |||
Best Make-Up & Hair Design | Megan Daum and Frieda Valenzuela | Nominated | |||
Best Original Music | Clint Mansell | Nominated | |||
Best Production Design | Katie Hickman | Nominated | |||
Best Sound | Paul Davies, Andrew Stirk, Linda Forsén, Rose Bladh, and Tim Burns | Nominated | |||
Golden Trailer Awards | May 30, 2024 | Best Thriller | "Threat" (AV Squad) | Nominated | [31] |
Gotham Awards | December 2, 2024 | Outstanding Supporting Performance | Katy O'Brian | Nominated | [32] |
Independent Spirit Awards | February 22, 2025 | Best Breakthrough Performance | Pending | [33] | |
National Board of Review | December 4, 2024 | Top Ten Independent Films | Love Lies Bleeding | Honored | [7] |
San Diego Film Critics Society | December 9, 2024 | Best Original Screenplay | Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska | Pending | [34] |
Kristen Jaymes Stewart is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a César Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
Jessica Yu-Li Henwick is a British actress, writer and director. She began her career in 2010 and is best known for her roles in Game of Thrones, Iron Fist, Love and Monsters, The Defenders, Silk, The Matrix Resurrections, The Gray Man, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and The Royal Hotel. Her directorial debut Bus Girl was nominated for a BAFTA.
Snow White & the Huntsman is a 2012 American fantasy action-adventure film based on the German fairy tale "Snow White" compiled by the Brothers Grimm. The directorial debut of Rupert Sanders, it was written by Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, and Hossein Amini, from a screen story by Daugherty. The cast includes Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, and Bob Hoskins in his final film performance. In the film's retelling of the tale, Snow White grows up imprisoned by her evil stepmother, Queen Ravenna, a powerful sorceress. After Snow White escapes into the forest, Ravenna enlists Eric the Huntsman to capture her, but he becomes her companion in a quest to overthrow Ravenna.
A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The company is based in Manhattan.
Equals is a 2015 American science fiction romantic drama film directed by Drake Doremus, produced by Michael Pruss, Chip Diggins, Ann Ruak, Michael Schaefer, and Jay Stern, and written by Nathan Parker from a story by Doremus. It stars Nicholas Hoult and Kristen Stewart as two people living in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world where all the people are robotic, emotionless workers, and any sign of emotions is treated as a disease. Additional roles are played by Guy Pearce and Jacki Weaver.
American Ultra is a 2015 American stoner spy action comedy film directed by Nima Nourizadeh and written by Max Landis. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Topher Grace, Connie Britton, Walton Goggins, John Leguizamo, Bill Pullman and Tony Hale. The story is about a stoner who discovers he was part of a secret government program and is a sleeper agent.
Charlie's Angels is a 2019 American action comedy film written and directed by Elizabeth Banks from a story by Evan Spiliotopoulos and David Auburn. It stars Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska as the new generation of Angels who are working for a private detective agency named the Townsend Agency. The film is the third installment in the Charlie's Angels film series and serves as a continuation of the story that began with the television series of the same name by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, and the two previous theatrical films, Charlie's Angels (2000) and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003).
Ed Harris is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. His performances in Apollo 13 (1995), The Truman Show (1998), Pollock (2000) and The Hours (2002) earned him critical acclaim in addition to Academy Award nominations. Harris has appeared in several leading and supporting roles, such as in The Right Stuff (1983), Sweet Dreams (1985),The Abyss (1989), State of Grace (1990), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Nixon (1995), The Rock (1996), Stepmom (1998), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Enemy at the Gates (2001), A History of Violence (2005), Gone Baby Gone (2007), Snowpiercer (2013), and Mother! (2017). In addition to directing Pollock, Harris also directed the western Appaloosa (2008). In television, Harris is notable for his roles as Miles Roby in the miniseries Empire Falls (2005) and as United States Senator John McCain in the television movie Game Change (2012), the latter of which earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. He starred as the Man in Black in the HBO science fiction-western series Westworld (2016–2022), for which he earned a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
Happiest Season is a 2020 American romantic comedy film directed by Clea DuVall, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mary Holland. Starring an ensemble cast consisting of Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Daniel Levy, Mary Holland, Victor Garber, and Mary Steenburgen, the film follows a young woman who struggles to admit to her conservative parents that she is a lesbian while she and her girlfriend visit them during Christmas. A semi-autobiographical take on DuVall's experiences with her family, Happiest Season is the first lesbian Christmas rom-com produced by a major Hollywood studio.
Jena Malone is an American actress who has appeared in over 40 feature films since beginning her career as a child actor in 1996. She gained critical acclaim for her film debut in Anjelica Huston's Bastard Out of Carolina (1996), followed by supporting parts in major studio films such as Contact with Jodie Foster (1997) and Stepmom with Julia Roberts (1998). She subsequently had roles in the cult film Donnie Darko, and the drama Life as a House, before having starring roles in the independent American Girl (2002), the dark comedy Saved! (2004), and the drama The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005).
Saint Maud is a 2019 British psychological horror film written and directed by Rose Glass in her feature directorial debut. The film stars Morfydd Clark as a religious private carer who becomes dangerously fixated with saving the soul of her patient. Jennifer Ehle, Lily Frazer, Lily Knight, Marcus Hutton, Turlough Convery and Rosie Sansom appear in supporting roles.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is an upcoming American action spy film directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen. The direct sequel to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), it is the eighth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, and Rolf Saxon reprise their roles from the previous films.
Spencer is a 2021 historical psychological drama film directed by Pablo Larraín and written by Steven Knight. The film is about Princess Diana's existential crisis during the Christmas of 1991, as she considers divorcing Prince Charles and leaving the British royal family. Kristen Stewart and Jack Farthing star as Diana and Charles respectively, along with Jack Neilen and Freddie Spry as Prince William and Prince Harry, respectively. Also starring Timothy Spall, Sean Harris, and Sally Hawkins. It is the second film in Larraín's trilogy of 20th century iconic women, succeeding Jackie (2016) and preceding Maria (2024).
Rose Glass is an English film director and screenwriter. She made her feature film debut with the 2019 psychological horror film Saint Maud, which was nominated for two awards at the 74th British Academy Film Awards. In 2020, Glass was named Best Debut Director at the British Independent Film Awards.
Katy M. O'Brian is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as bodybuilder Jackie in Love Lies Bleeding, Imperial communications officer Elia Kane in the second and third seasons of The Mandalorian, George in Syfy's zombie show Z Nation, Major Sara Grey in The CW's superhero series Black Lightning, Kimball in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Jentorra in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
You Hurt My Feelings is a 2023 American comedy-drama film written, directed and produced by Nicole Holofcener. It stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobias Menzies, Michaela Watkins, Arian Moayed and Jeannie Berlin.
Civil War is a 2024 dystopian action thriller film written and directed by Alex Garland, starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno, and Nick Offerman. The plot follows a team of war journalists traveling from New York City to Washington, D.C. during a civil war fought across the United States between a despotic federal government and secessionist movements to interview the president before rebels take the capital city.
2AM is an American independent film production and management company founded in 2021 by Christine D'Souza Gelb, David Hinojosa, and Kevin Rowe. The company is best known for producing films such as Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022), The Starling Girl (2023), and Past Lives (2023).
Weronika Tofilska is a Polish director and screenwriter. She is best known for co-writing the 2024 romantic thriller film Love Lies Bleeding and for directing the first four episodes of the 2024 Netflix miniseries Baby Reindeer, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.