Love Lies Bleeding is a neo-noir set in an unspecified town in New Mexico in 1989. Lou(Kristen Stewart) is a lonely manager of a gym and has unspecified familial and law enforcement issues. Enter Jackie(Katy O'Brian) a transient bodybuilder on her way to a competition in Las Vegas. The two meet and begin a relationship while Jackie prepares. Lou's past and situation begin to interfere with the relationship and trouble ensues.
Stewart is miscast and brings her hipster aw-shucks shrugging to a role that requires more. O'Brian, in her first leading role, is clearly a talent to watch but doesn't have enough on the page to really carve out a character. The two have decent chemistry and it would have been nice to see them in a story not so bogged down by manufactured externals. Both are criminally underwritten and are propelled not by a real connection with each other or believable humanity but with the necessity of plot. It is glaring how contrived both the relationship and the situation the characters find themselves in are. The rest of the cast have very little to do and Jena Malone, a true star, is barely used. She would have been a better choice for Lou. Ed Harris's absurd wig does more acting than he does.
The film looks great, saturated and lush, the score thrumming and thrilling. But its all style no substance. Director/co-writer Rose Glass is an expert craftsperson, no question, but her screenwriting ability, at least in this effort, is little to none. She has no real sense of the time period, location, criminality, class, or fitness. All areas a rich prep school Londoner shouldn't get into without, at minimum, extensive research. Given the New Mexico setting the dearth of Latinx and Natives in the film is concerning. Understanding this is extra-textual but it underscores the inauthenticity that is an undercurrent throughout.
It is wonderful to see the representation and the uptick in queer filmmaking generally over the last couple years is encouraging but here there is almost a sprint to the stylized sex scenes proceeded by little-to-no character development which render them confusing at best, exploitive at worst.
Feels more like a protracted music video rather than a feature.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
Don't See It.
No comments:
Post a Comment