The first *great* movie of the year
"All you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun" (Jean-Luc Godard). But two girls make it even better.
I *love* going to the movies. LOVE IT. I will choose it as an activity over almost anything. And one of the (really, only) things I miss about living in a major city (vs a town) is that most movies we get here are meant to be for, well, everyone (read: Marvel & most of Blumhouse, and while I do love a campy horror movie, lets face it, they all come to Peacock in under two months).
So I do a lot of what I call “trip movie watching” meaning that when I am in a major city for work or fun, I take myself to the movies - I saw Eileen in Brooklyn, Saltburn in Nashville, Zone of Interest in New Orleans. But, every once in a while, something in the booking algorhythm clicks, and we get a legitimately cool slice of cinema. Just for a week or so, so you have to act fast, but still. And then - you run to see it. And that is what happened with “Love Lies Bleeding” which is what we’re here to discuss today (plus, obviously, some book and movie recommendations to complement it).
I have read ZERO reviews of this film before I sat down to write about this, because I wanted my reaction to be as pure as possible. And that reaction is:
THIS MOVIE IS A BANGER.
Seeing a great movie director born in front of your very eyes, on the big screen, should qualify as an almost religious experience. If their vision connects to your brainwaves, if their decisions stir something in you, if the world they build transports you somewhere emotionally and viscerally - a bond is forged that can’t be denied for years to come. This is how I felt when I saw “Virgin Suicides”, or “Me And You And Everyone We Know”, or “I Am Love” or “Sexy Beast”… you just stop in your tracks a little. Isn’t art just great that way?
And this is the moment we have here with writer-director Rose Glass, who has made exactly one full-length feature film previously (“Saint Maud” which I have been actively too terrified to watch for half a decade now, but may have to in the aftermath of this) but who charges into so many uncharted territories here with the almost delusional confidence of a 80 year old white male director who hasn’t been told “No” by the studio system for at least half a century. And it pays off. It pays off BIG.
The story is simple and universal (see Godard quote above) and we’ve all seen it and gotten invested in it before, and that is why it works:
Two misfits fall in love and dream of a better tomorrow. The deeply unfair universe puts them and their love in danger. They make some desperate choices. Things go from bad to worse. And… as we root for them against the proverbial man, they slowly but surely run out of options… until…
This is the plot of everything from “True Romance” to “Bonnie and Clyde” to “Thelma and Louise” to “Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid” to… and what makes those movies great (as opposed to bad versions of this scenario which there are plenty of too - think “Natural Born Killers”, “Freeway”, the remake of “Gun Crazy”, “Catchfire”) is the magic combination of original execution (making something universal feel incredibly specific) and cast chemistry.
And “Love Lies Bleeding” has both in spades.
Rose Glass sets the story of Lou (Kristen Stewart at her peak queer-icon momentum, doing the entire press tour not wearing anything on the bottom part of her body) and Jack (newcomer-ish Katy O’Brien who reads as an offspring of Flashdance-era Jennifer Beals and Rambo-era Stallone - meaning A STAR) meet in a town in New Mexico that wishes it could earn a “one horse town” accolade. Lou has been there her whole life. Jack has just arrived. The time is 1980s, the guns and muscles fetishism are peaking as part of the “Terminator” and “First Blood” momentum. At this unholy time and in this unholy place, Lou and Jack find each other with the laser sharp precision of lesbian missiles, and just want to have fun (read: have sex, eat egg white omelettes, and practice for Jackie’s debut in a fitness competition in Las Vegas). You’d think the universe would let them do this. After all, they deserve it.
However, the proverbial MAN in this story comes in the shape of, well, multiple men. A very brave Dave (“Baby”) Franco plays JJ - Lou’s wife-beating-and-cheating brother-in-law (married to an exceptionally well cast Jena Malone whose sleepy eyes and chipmunk-y cheeks make her an oddly viable Stepford version of Stewart), who carries his provincial sinister-ness under a shit eating grin and bad mullet. Ed Harris, in a late-career highlight, is Lou Sr, Lou’s Dad, owner of everything worth owning in this town and clearly a bad, bad man (his hobbies involve bugs, dropping people into ravines and styling his hair with photos of both Bob in “Twin Peaks” and Riff Raff in “Rocky Horror” stuck to his mirror). Plus, there’s FBI agents, shitty gym rat meat heads, a corrupt Sheriff and other sundry.
Everyone is perfect. EVERYONE. Even the smaller roles are transfixing. A surprise star-making turn comes from Anna Baryshnikov, daughter of Mikhail (ballet superstar and ultimate “Sex and the City” nemesis boyfriend - Aleksandr Petrovsky) - as the only other girl-loving-girl in town - a messy, not-chill, blonde nightmare that goes by Daisy.
I am not going to give any other plot lines away - but be prepared for exceptionally high levels of violence, body horror (especially facially focused - shades of almost “Elephant Man” here), nightmare visualizations, and more.
BUT! The vibes are vibing on Nicolas Winding-Refn levels (“Drive” is another one of those movies with the same plotline that turned out to be great), the music is electric (that score! , the song curation!), the shorts are short, the haircuts are debatable, the pop-culture references (Hulk! Lynch! Oz!) are abundant, and you, as a bystander, are just stuck in this world in a way that won’t even let you go to the restroom during its 1:42 minutes (a perfect length for a movie, imo - Scorcese, Scott, Nolan - I hope you’re reading this!)
And the end is *chef’s kiss*. Funny and dark and ….
Anyway, please, please, please go see this and lets reach hands across America and make sure everyone involved in this film works forever.
Deal? Deal.
OK! And now for some companionship recs, because you may be hungry for more once you’re done with this slice:
Movies! (“Saint Maud” aside)
“Drive” - a true soulmate of this film.
“Wild at Heart” - Sailor and and Lula are Lou and Jack of the early 90s. If I am to imagine a dream scenario for rewatching “Love Lies Bleeding” it involves being in the movie theatre with David Lynch when he sees it because I know he’d be having the best time.
“Showgirls” - Jackie has that Nomi hunger and combination of ruthlessness and vulnerability to her - and the story-keeps-always-moving-or-it-dies energy is sort a match (even if, obviously “Love Lies Bleeding” is an infinitely better movie”)
“Saturday Night Fever” - I actually read somewhere Glass referenced this and it makes sense - the dreaminess, the undeniable soundtrack, and Kristen Stewart has that Young Travolta level of charisma.
“Panic Room” - because Jodie Foster is Kristen Stewart and Kristen Stewart is Jodie Foster and the fact that back in 2002, these two played mother and daughter - it is a cosmic circumstance that should be celebrated in 2024 (my household is, in fact, watching this as our Saturday night movie pick - it is already been decided)
“Bones and All” - a bloody, messy, gorgeous, vampiric coming of age road-tirp movie by Luca Guadagnino which should have been way buzzier (shout out to Kat Bangs who is this movie’s #1 fan and evangelist, and I know she’ll LOVE “Love Lies Bleeding”).
“Bad Batch” - not to be confused with the Disney+ show, this is Ana Lily Amirpours 2nd film (right after “Girl Walks Home Alone At Night” and before “Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon”) and who is, maybe and probably, the long lost soul sister of Rose Glass (let’s have a dinner party, ladies!)
“Titane”- providing you can take even more intense body horror.
p.s. yes, we also saw “Drive Away Dolls” this week and it was NOT good. At all.
Books!
“Nevada” by Imogen Binnie - a road book (which is much rarer than a road movie) about a recently broken up with trans bookstore employee. So specific, so great.
“The Outsiders” by S.E. Hilton - capturing that perfect, helpless youth energy - even after all these years.
Any and all Melissa Broders and Ottessa Mosfeghs - but probably, especially “Pisces” and “Eileen”
Ok, that is IT for today.
Next weekend - the big end-of-month wrap-up newsletter is coming, so tell your friends to subscribe etc?