Love lies bleeding

Macho Sluts, as Rose Glass herself says.

Rose Glass’ second directorial feature, Love Lies Bleeding, is an impactful, tense, humorous whirlwind of queer female lead cinema.

Starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian, the two of them bounce off each other incredibly in scenes. The chemistry is burning, and both lead the film powerfully. Katy O’Brian is a real standout in her scenes, proving herself against the larger names she’s acting against.

Glass develops a clear style throughout the film. There’s no denying that the visuals presented enhance the film greatly, but it felt that, at times, the feature fell into the style over substance grey area. Besides Stewart’s Lou and O’Brian’s Jacqui, the other characters come across as very two-dimensional and severely underdeveloped. They would simply be there and lack effect when not in action with Lou or Jacqui.

The film itself held strong through till the third act when it steered an unconventional (though I’m not sure that’s a negative enough word) route of storytelling. In the scene Lou is about to die at the hands of her father (Ed Harris), Jacqui suddenly grows exponentially (imagine if the hulk hulked out giant Antman style). It looked silly. The one scene deconstructs the talent illustrated through the rest of the film entirely. The abrupt switch in tone removes you from the flow and the tension of the scene immediately, and it takes a lot away from an otherwise thrilling film.

Love Lies Bleeding, dir. Rose Glass

Release: 3 May 2024

Lara Edwards.