1989, small-town New Mexico, USA. Too many people with too much time on their hands and not enough money. The perfect receipe for things to go wrong. And they sure do in director Rose Glass’ fabulously intense, lesbian romance, bodybuilding, shock horror flick, Love Lies Bleeding; surely destined to become a queer cult classic.
A supercool-looking Kristen Stewart plays Lou, a rude, grubby, jaded gym manager in a roid-riven gym on the outskirts of town. Her dodgy, weird grub collecting, father (Ed Harris) owns a local gun range, and is involved in smuggling guns into Mexico, amongst other unsavoury activities. He has a couple of bent local cops on his payroll as well as Lou’s wife-beating mullet-headed brother-in-law JJ (Dave Franco). Lou’s long-suffering sister Beth (Jena Malone) accepts his increasingly violent beatings without consequence, much to Lou’s constant frustration.
So far, so bad. Lou’s life, however, looks up when sexy bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O’Brian) rolls into town, hitching across America on her way from Oklahoma to a bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas. The two women fall for each other immediately and begin a sexually intense affair while sweet-dreamer Jackie prepares for her competition at Lou’s gym. Lou shares some of the gym’s communal stock of steroids with Jackie to help her with her prep. Jackie hasn’t taken steroids before and they have some unusual side-effects on Jackie’s behaviour. Jackie moves into Lou’s house, and quickly becomes embroiled in Lou’s chaotic life with her family. When Jackie decides to take matters into her own hands to solve the family’s problems, she sets off a chain of events that take us into increasingly surreal, horrific, gory and ultimately, hilarious territory. The trail of destruction includes a fabulous supporting performance by Anna Baryshnikov who plays Daisy, a nice-but-dim ex-girlfriend of Lou’s.
Glass has successfully re-created all the bad bits of late 1980s America in this eye-opening tale of human connection, lust, crime and dark despair. Perfectly sad, dim neon lighting combines with Clint Mansell’s moody 1980s synth-inspired soundtrack and hopelessly flawed characters. Just as you think things can’t get any more chaotic and doomed, another unpredictable layer of intense disarray is revealed. Moments of jaw-dropping surrealism and laugh-out-funny situations bring you back to the beginning of the cycle, before it begins again. You’ll take a deep breath once it’s over and then what you’ve just witnessed over the past, increasingly fast-paced, 100 minutes will slowly sink in. In a very good way.
The film was reviewed at BFI Flare London's Queer Film Festival + is currently screening in US movie theaters.
It will have a UK theatrical release in May
Queerguru’s Contributing Editor Ris Fatah is a successful fashion/luxury business consultant (when he can be bothered) who divides and wastes his time between London and Ibiza. He is a lover of all things queer, feminist, and human rights in general. @ris.fatah
