In 2019, Rose Glass announced herself to the world with the phenomenal Saint Maud. The film was an immersive character study of one lonely woman clinging to sanity in the wake of a personal trauma. Audiences loved Saint Maud with a common thread across all reviews being how hard it was to believe that it was only Glass’ feature debut. This year Glass returns with her second film, Love Lies Bleeding, which just debuted at Sundance.
Whereas Saint Maud made a star out of lead Morfydd Clark, Love Lies Bleeding is set to do the same for Katy O’Brian. In Love Lies Bleeding, O’Brian plays body-builder Jackie who finds herself drawn into the life and drama of Kristen Stewart’s Lou. Set towards the tail end of the 80s, Love Lies Bleeding explores small town America and the chokehold it maintains over its residents. Initially only meant to be passing through, Jackie finds herself entangled in the lives of Lou and her family. Her attachment proves to be her undoing though as Lou’s family harbour some serious bad blood.
With Love Lies Bleeding, Glass quickly asserts that Saint Maud was not a fluke. Although the story is not as tightly focused on one location or character, Glass still maintains a strong strand of intimacy. This primarily comes through the relationship of Jackie and Lou. The connection between the two is immediate, and even in its lighter moments, rests under a haze of violence. There is a frisson of danger that permeates every scene between the two that serves to make it more exciting. The chemistry between O’Brian and Stewart is electric and together they are a sapphic dream.
Jackie is training for a big body-building contest in Vegas, and Lou introduces her lover to steroids. Although introduced into the mix early on, this drug use is kept in the background to not derail the narrative. The effect of the steroids is never too far away however, with the sound design capturing every muscle crack and vein pop. When Jackie eventually unleashes her ‘roid rage’, it is gloriously gross and is almost enough to rival that end image of Saint Maud.
As with Saint Maud, Love Lies Bleeding looks and sounds sublime. The opening shot alone, which morphs from looking down into a chasm, to peering upward at the starlit sky, is gorgeous. From here on, the cinematography goes from strength to strength. Ben Fordesman is back behind the camera and shifts from capturing the cold and isolating landscape of a deserted seaside, to translating the dry heat of the desert adjacent town. The lens captures plenty of glistening sweat that feeds into both the heat of the landscape, and that of Lou and Jackie’s lust. The sound is pitch perfect, and although not as intense as in its predecessor, it still remains integral to setting the mood. Atop all of these is a dazzling score from Clint Mansell that ties everything together.
Love Lies Bleeding borrows aspects from Bones and All, True Romance, and Bound to create a taut and inviting thriller that exposes the toxicity of small towns and the secrets they hold. At the same time, Love Lies Bleeding captures that all-consuming energy of insatiable lust. With knock-out performances across the board, both in front and behind the camera, Rose Glass has once more created a sumptuous cinematic treat.
Love Lies Bleeding
Summary
It’s two out of two for Rose Glass. Love Lies Bleeding is an achingly sapphic tale of blood feuds and small town bondage.
Love Lies Bleeding was reviewed at Sundance 2024.
