“Love Lies Bleeding” (2024) Movie Review – Great Juice With Nothing But PULP

It’s not new information that A24 has taken the movie industry by storm with their innovation and care for quality. The last decade has been huge for them as they have been paving a path of excellence for themselves and other companies around them. With A24 now dominating awards season, they also set out to provide tonal exercises with tons of care dumped into it.

In the latest addition to their catalogue, writer/director Rose Glass presents “Love Lies Bleeding.” A brand new crime, romance starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian. Does “Love Lies Bleeding” continue A24’s attention to detail and uniqueness? Yes, it does.

Juice With Nothing But Pulp

Set in 1989, “Love Lies Bleeding” immediately has a style that washes over you. Its synth flooded soundtrack elevates the bleak and mundane New Mexico setting. The way the starry night skies are framed is dreams personified as we navigate brutal crime and Ed Harris’ mullet. Rose Glass sets a standard very early in the film and it never shies away from grit and pulp. The slow motion sex scenes, gruesome kills, close-ups of muscles flexing as 80s pop blisses the sound all round out the stylistic choices Glass decides on. I absolutely love that “Love Lies Bleeding” does not try to move mountains. It sets out to give you a gritty, 80s love story and does exactly that.

Everything looks great in here too. The red neon that overtakes the color palette at times with ease is admittedly so cool. Shot with intense intimacy, you are absolutely locked into Stewart and O’Brian’s headspace. Just well done job by cinematographer Ben Fordesman.

The emphasis on the tone is one of the greater reasons why this film works harder than the devil. Falling into its compellingly disgusting 80s trip is rewarding and immersive. The other strong trait that “Love Lies Bleeding” possesses is its character acting.

Big, Shredded Performances

“Love Lies Bleeding” features a plethora of exciting character acting. Kristen Stewart provides her wicked charm as the top-billed lead. I know we harp on her “Twilight” shit and how far she has come, but it cannot be ignored that she’s naturally charismatic and empathetic. The real scene stealer is Katy O’Brian, whose presence is huge in many ways. She is so convincing as a hungry dreamer who loves and grinds. O’Brian’s physical performance is magnificent as well as she is a convincing beast of a person. It’s so rare to find a performance that has emotional and physical requirements, but both elevate each other and O’Brian prevails.

The minor character work is great too. Ed Harris provides a evil, slimy performance that perfectly matches his on-screen haircut. An honorable is Dave Franco, who yet again shows his ability to accurately portray a little bitch. Great work from both actors to really enhance the pulpy exterior of this film.

Verdict

I’m going to keep using gym vernacular in a cheesy way. I do not care. This movie will get you pumped. As stated prior, Rose Glass provides a fantastic, chemistry filled love story that’s grounded in grit and grind. Great, fun performances that turns the pulp up to 11 along with a tonal immersion that flourishes. The re-watchability potential is great with this one.

The ending did leave a little to be desired as it felt like a hard stop to all the momentum the film was building. Nevertheless, when the credits roll you feel satisfied with the culmination of “Love Lies Bleeding.” It does not require anymore evaluation other than saying “it rocks.”

I really enjoyed it and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for great popcorn flick.

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