Love Lies Bleeding is the latest A24 distributed film from director Rose Glass and starring Kristen Stewart, Kary O’Brian, Jena Malone, Dave Franco, and Ed Harris. Set in the 1980’s the film follows a relationship between a reclusive gym manager (Stewart) with a powerful crime family with her dad (Harris) at the top and an ambitious bodybuilder. If I see Rose Glass attached to anything, I will be watching it. Her previous film, Saint Maud, was shocking, yet unique to make her name stand out going forward. I also think it’s the best way to go into this. While this film stand out as a crime-action-drama, Glass still incorporate horror elements to make one of the most unique films of 2024 so far.

At this point, I shouldn’t doubt A24. They deliver on bringing some of the most unique projects out there. They always have important themes, and this film falls right into that category. Love Lies Bleeding is an interesting concept as it has an impressive cast with Katy O’Brian being heavily advertised and it’s for good reason. I believe by the end of this year, her performance will fall in my top 10. It’s unlike anything else and she is rightfully advertised for this film.

When the film starts, it actually has quite an impressive set-up. So impressive that I am going to do my best to avoid spoilers. Essentially, Stewart’s & O’Brian’s characters form a relationship when O’Brian starts attending her gym, yet they both don’t know that they already have a unique connection between each other – one that I will not spoil. When they do meet, there are fireworks and their personalities balance perfectly for each other. It’s clear that Stewart is wanting to stay as far away as possible from her father’s crime business, leading her to be very introverted. She has opportunities to do the right thing, but she is worried about the repercussions. When she meets O’Brian, O’Brian becomes the other missing piece that she needs to overcome her crime family. O’Brian is confident and intense and full of enough love to do the right thing.

The inciting incident leads to O’Brian doing what she believes is necessary, no matter how brutal it is. After she does what she does to protect who she loves, O’Brian’s performance presents itself like no other. She then becomes like Stewart’s character. She has to be confident to perform at an event while also dealing with hallucinations. It shows how real she is becoming with her love for Stewart’s character, a love that shows so much dynamic between the two leads.

The film is visually appealing from start to finish. It frames shots in ways that allows the eye to focus on specific areas of the screen. It also is never afraid to be as brutal as possible. When O’Brian has that hallucination, Rose Glass’ involvement in horror comes to life and presents a very shocking moment. That’s where Glass’ expertise comes into play as her horror elements deliver on the seriousness of the film. It also helps deliver on what is certainly a shocking ending. At first, I was thrown off by this and wasn’t sure how this would fair. Luckily, I think as time went on, I enjoyed it more and more. It presents an important theme on love, anger, and knowing how to control that anger. Once again, I won’t get into spoilers, but it’s worth mentioning as it may shock viewers.

At 100 minutes, I wish the film did more. I could see the potential to add at least 20 minutes more to develop on the complexity of the crime family. Ed Harris is great with what he is given, but I believe more could have presented to show why he is such a threat. It’s clear he’s a treat – I just think there was potential for more here.

Overall, Love Lies Bleeding double down’s on its promise and delivers the goods, while maintaining a solid arthouse feel to it. Stewart is believable in her performance, but it’s the incredible performance from O’Brian that’s going to be talked about for quite some time. Filmmaker Rose Glass is well on her way to become one of my favorite filmmakers working today. If you are tired of the rough films in 2024, this may be your pick. Even if you don’t like it as I do believe it’s going to be divisive, I still think it has plenty to talk about.

VERDICT: Great