Directed by Rosa Glass, “Love Lies Bleeding“ is a new romantic thriller that premiered at the Midnight section of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Starring Katy O’Brian & Kristen Stewart in the central roles, it follows two young women who get caught in a web of crime. Set in 1989, it presents a blooming romance between these women in a world corrupted by the crimes and crooked intentions of men around them. Its script is written by the director, Rosa Glass, with Weronika Tofilska. Besides O’Brian & Stewart, the film also stars Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco, and Ed Harris.
Spoilers Ahead
Love Lies Bleeding (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“Love Lies Bleeding” is about two women who cross paths in a desolate small town in America. One of them is a bodybuilder aspiring to win big accolades, and the other is a gym manager and the daughter of a local criminal. While their romance bloom, they get sucked into crimes beyond their control. It leads them on a downhill path with a return seemingly impossible.
Star-Crossed Lovers Entangled in Darkness
“Love Lies Bleeding” is set in a small American town where Louise Langston, aka Lou (Kristen Stewart), crosses paths with Jaqueline Cleaver, aka Jackie (Katy O’Brian). Lou is a manager for a local gym, whereas Jackie is a bodybuilder who happens to pass by the town. The film begins with Lou unclogging a toilet. Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov), who has a crush on Lou, pesters her. Lou shares no such feelings. On the other hand, Jackie is a vagrant and an aspiring bodybuilding champion. She happens to go past Lou’s town on her way to a bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas.
On her first night in this town, Jackie offers sexual favors to J.J. (Dave Franco), the husband of Lou’s sister, Bethany, aka Beth (Jena Malone). J.J. helps Jackie get a job at a shooting range owned by Lou’s father, Lou Sr (Ed Harris). Later that night, Lou notices Jackie in the gym. The Feds ask Lou for information about her father’s crimes and her mother’s absence. Lou reveals that she is estranged from her father and shares no more information. Later that night, Lou and Jackie finally have a dialogue. Lou offers her steroids to bulk up. Although hesitant at first, Jackie ends up using a dose.
Lou & Jackie: A Love Story Tested
After meeting in the gym, Lou and Jackie soon have sex. Jackie asks if she can stay at Lou’s apartment for the time being. Lou allows it. As time goes on, the two grow closer. Eventually, they join Beth and J.J. for a double date. Lou notices Beth’s wounded face and confronts J.J. about abusing her sister. Because of Lou’s threats, J.J. reveals that he had sex with Jackie in a parking lot. Lou gets upset that Jackie kept it a secret. On their way back home, she questions whether Jackie is using her for a place to stay. She forces Jackie out of the car. But then she notices some FBI agents nearby and invites her back inside.
Beth’s Abuse & Jackie’s Choice
The day after the double-dinner date, Beth gets hospitalized because J.J. had senselessly beaten her. Jackie joins Lou to visit Beth. Lou justifiably gets furious and wishes to kill the vile man. Lou Sr tells her that Beth may not want J.J. dead and they should respect her wishes. Jackie takes Lou’s words seriously. So, under the influence, breaks into J.J.’s house and beats him to death. Later, Lou shows up at Beth’s house and sees J.J.’s dead body. Upon realizing Jackie’s involvement in it, Lou helps her drive the corpse to a ravine, where Lou Sr used to kill his enemies and throw their dead bodies.
On the way to the ravine, Daisy notices Jackie driving Lou’s car and following her. The next morning, Lou goes to Beth’s house to clean the signs of murder. She tells Jackie not to leave the house or do anything reckless. After Lou leaves, Jackie realizes that she is locked inside the house. She gets angry and gets high on steroids. While she goes to the gym and exercises without restraint, Lou Sr meets a police officer on his payroll to take care of the matter. At night, Jackie returns to Lou’s house and hopes to head to Las Vegas. Lou points out that it is dangerous, considering the mess they are in. But Jackie is in no state to think clearly.
Jackie’s Escape: From Love to Desperation
Lou tries to talk sense in Jackie’s mind. But Jackie punches her and then hitchhikes her way to Las Vegas. During her competition, she goes into psychosis induced by steroids and imagines herself vomiting Lou’s entire body. Moments later, she realizes that she has actually vomited on stage. She looks back at the opponents, believes they are laughing at her, and beats them. So, she gets thrown in jail. She calls Lou for help, but Daisy picks up. Daisy says she is with Lou and Jackie shouldn’t return. At the time, Daisy was blackmailing Lou for affection after realizing her involvement in J.J.’s murder.
Jackie gets upset, and the next thing she sees is Lou Sr bailing her out. While driving her back to their town, Lou Sr tells her about Daisy’s knowledge of the crime. He forces her to kill Daisy as a witness to J.J.’s murder. So, Jackie shoots Daisy right outside Lou’s doorstep. Lou realizes that her father used Jackie’s complicated feelings to his advantage. While Jackie takes off, Lou cleans the mess left behind. While she packs Daisy’s body, FBI agents show up at her doorstep to speak about J.J.’s death and the ravine. They reveal that any person who decided to disclose Lou Sr’s crimes ended there. Lou says she is not involved in any of her father’s crimes.
Love Lies Bleeding Ending Explained: Betrayal, Violence, & a Shocking Twist (2024)
What happens to Lou & Jackie?
After shooting Daisy, Jackie goes to Lou Sr’s house. Meanwhile, Lou speaks with FBI agents, who reveal that her mother contacted the police to disclose information on her father’s crimes. Once they leave, Lou Sr calls Lou and says that he has arranged to implicate Jackie for J.J. and Beth’s murders. Lou refuses to cooperate and threatens to expose his operation. So, Lou Sr gets furious and sends the police officer on his payroll to Lou’s house. Lou manages to shoot this cop and save herself. Then, she goes to her father’s house and encounters Beth. She confronts her to know Jackie’s location.
Lou rescues Jackie and tells her to run away while her father shoots her in the leg. He reveals that Lou’s mother is not dead and left because of their actions. While running away, Jackie overhears the father and daughter’s fight and gets furious. In that state, she grows to a gigantic size and arrives next to them. She hopes to shoot Lou Sr but decides to leave the officers to arrest him. Then, she drives away with Lou. On the way, Lou realizes that Daisy is still in her car. So, she takes out her body and leaves it in a deserted land while Jackie sleeps in her car.
Love Lies Bleeding Themes: A Look at Addiction, Body Image & More (2024)
Addiction
In “Love Lies Bleeding,” we see Jackie succumb to her addiction. Lou introduces her to the world of steroids. Jackie rather wants to naturally grow her muscles and her physic. Still, she decides to take one. Later, as they get caught up in some issues, she looks at these steroids as a source of easy joy. It allows her to escape the dreadful reality and to simultaneously focus on her ambition. But it proves fatal when her consumption turns into an addiction.
Body Image
Jackie’s character in “Love Lies Bleeding“ briefly talks about her childhood when she was teased for being overweight. That’s what pushed her to pursue bodybuilding to fight her bullies. In her suburban, religious surroundings, people didn’t accept a woman who was not delicate or petite. Throughout the film, we see Jackie’s anxieties about her body image peek out in one way or the other. After her bodybuilding competition fiasco, she believes other contestants are laughing at her for the same reason. So, the ending where she suddenly grows to a gigantic size, likely reflects her radical acceptance.
Read More: Where to Watch & Stream the new movie ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ starring Kristen Stewart?
Trailer:
Love Lies Bleeding (2024) Movie Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia, Letterboxd
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian, Ed Harris, Dave Franco, Jena Malone
Genre: Mystery & thriller/Crime, Runtime: 1h 44m
