Review: LOVE LIES BLEEDING

Lou works at a gym into which one day strides Jacqueline who is built for power. Instant mutuality bound with some shared violence, a hot night at home and they're an item. Lou's never been outside of her one-mule New Mexico town but Jack has drifted from Oklahoma, on her way to the bodybuilding championships in Vegas. Play it by ear, maybe. Lou's sister is married to a assaultive man who all but puts her in a coma with a face like a granite formation. Lou's anger transports to Jack who pays a visit on fisty JJ. Well, you know what they say, love's all fun and games until someone puts an eye out. It's more than an eye but you get my drift.

On the one hand, I could never have predicted that the writer/director of Saint Maud would have offered something like this as a follow up. On the other hand, the theme of dependence and its power plays is a pretty direct port to this neo-noir. Also Rose Glass's strong use of sudden absurdism is in great shape with some eyepopping moments on screen. As I like to avoid the laziness and mediocrity of criticism by comparison it is my happy duty to report that this outing is so confidently its own film that suggesting the influence of other filmmakers would be unhelpful.

That said, as enjoyable as recognising this style is there is a tension that becomes counterproductive. It lies between the cool (love story) and the cruel (violence). The threads do weave but they are at such odds that the small town slow can dominate over the slowburn by which the story is better served. This is corrected in the third act but it does make the middle drag. When we want someone to get up and do something, we wish the protocol of the underworld were less politely observed.

That said, if you let the romance take centre screen and only notice the build of the other characters and story you should do ok with this steamy, sensual girl noir. Kristen Stewart again proves the substance in her powers of performance (how many times does she have to, seriously?) with a detailed portrayal of a woman surprised to discover her own potential. It's also pleasant to find a director who opts out of fetishising her delicate urbane beauty in favour of giving it some more mortal sweat and sunlight. We get a lot of close up skin, most of it either stretched over solidly built muscle or moving with neural expertise and the effect is beautifully sculptural.

Katy O'Brien as Jackie adds to her ripped muscularity a commitment to exploring the loss of control vs growing power from a reliance on performance enhancers. A scene where she seems to absorb Lou's powerless rage is extraordinary. Ed Harris, looking like Rocky Horror's Riff Raff in his third age, delivers a gruffness he and his character have earned over decades as well as a surprising tenderness which reveals his sophistication. It's a well judged approach.

So, having seen Rose Glass emerge as a whole artist with the creeping horror of Saint Maud (see for free on SBS on Demand) and then hone her art with this noir it occurred to me that I want to see her have a crack at a dark sci-fi (preferably in space). Then she can do what she likes (I've sent word to her of this and I'm sure she'll be relieved). Want to see a bold new original voice in contemporary cinema  sing out? Go and see Love Lies Bleeding. And stay through the credits for a brief but beautiful shadow play.

Love Lies Bleeding is currently on general release. Rose Glass's debut feature Saint Maud can be found at SBS on Demand or hired from the usual online providers.