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Rating: I remember that, back then, Saint Maud struck me as one of the most interesting and successful horror films of recent years. I looked up who directed it and discovered it was the debut work of Rose Glass, a young and brilliant English director who already had a series of shorts under her belt. When I found out she would be returning with a new film, for which she also wrote the screenplay along with Weronika Tofilska, I knew I couldn't and didn't want to miss it; the only thing that made me a bit doubtful, but also curious, was the change of genre, as I had read that it was a sort of romantic thriller, moreover with big names like Ed Harris and Kristen Stewart.
What is the premise of this film?
In '89, bodybuilder Jackie leaves Oklahoma and arrives in a small town in New Mexico, a backwater place you only find in America; here she meets Lou, a mega-lesbian who cleans the gym toilets where she trains. Lou chats with her, offers her steroids, they kiss, and then they go have sex. Jackie starts cultivating her American dream: she wants to win a bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas, take Lou with her, and escape to California. Meanwhile, she also gets to know Lou's ill-fated family: the father, a psychopathic criminal lord who raises insects, the sister Beth, a submissive fool, and her husband JJ, a total bastard who goes around sleeping with girls and beating his wife to a pulp, the typical asshole from the extreme countryside. One day, JJ loses control and beats Beth until she's disfigured and sent to the hospital; the situation, which was already a ticking time bomb, is ready to explode...
Love Lies Bleeding is a thriller/noir not suitable for the faint of heart, a story of violence, drugs, and wild lesbian sex, where the pure passion between Jackie and Lou quickly becomes troubled and complex and evolves amidst the worlds of crime. A film that, in my opinion, barely touches on brilliance in the first part, but loses tone and pace in the second, concluding with an ending destined to divide audiences. The acting is good, with an excellent Ed Harris (the asshole father); Glass's touch is evident in the horror visions and portrayal of a lesbian relationship. Not a disappointment, but not a masterpiece either; still, it's a quality film, and worth the ticket price.
Until next time.
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By Confaloni
The director Rose Glass succeeds in rendering the environment of a gym and its patrons so vividly that you seem to perceive sweat and body scents.
The film's title suggests, love lies or bleeds lying—in short, a filthy affair of lies and blood, like life.
