Movie Review

Indie queen Kristen Stewart finds strong bond in Love Lies Bleeding

Katy O’Brian and Kristen Stewart in Love Lies Bleeding.

Photo courtesy of A24

Actor Kristen Stewart has had one of the more fascinating movie careers in recent history. After starting out as a kid actor in films like Panic Room, she got her big break when she won the lead in the Twilight franchise. That experience seemed to make her allergic to blockbusters, though; she’s made about two dozen films since that series ended, with only one of them – 2019’s Charlie’s Angels – being considered mainstream.

Her latest independent film is Love Lies Bleeding, in which she plays Lou, the manager of a gym in a small western town in the 1980s. Her lonely life is vastly improved when she meets Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a bodybuilder who’s on her way to Las Vegas, with dreams of winning a competition there. The two quickly bond, although with the hitch that Jackie has just started working at the gun range owned by Lou’s father, Lou Sr. (Ed Harris), from whom she is estranged.

Lou and Jackie share an attraction that’s only enhanced when Lou starts sharing steroids with Jackie. With JJ (Dave Franco), the abusive husband of Lou’s sister, Beth (Jena Malone), upping the stress level for Lou, and Jackie having her mind altered along with her body by the drugs, it seems only a matter of time before things go off the rails for everyone involved.

Directed by Rose Glass and written by Glass and Weronika Tofilska, the film has a propulsion to it for a variety of reasons. First and foremost is the way each character almost immediately pops off the screen. Glass is able to pinpoint the defining nature of all of the main characters quickly, whether it’s loneliness, desperation, meekness, or sinisterness. Even though the film doesn’t always go where you think it will go, these base personality traits color almost every decision everyone makes.

Glass also leans heavily into the ‘80s look of the film, especially the hair. Lou goes with a ragged butch cut, Jackie has a permed look, JJ sports a mullet, and Lou Sr. is given one of the most unique hairstyles in movie history, a half-bald, half-long hair combo that has to be seen to be believed. The hair and, to a certain extent, the clothes of each of the characters also plays a big part in how they are perceived by each other and the audience.

When things take a turn in the film’s second half, Glass vacillates between ultra-violence and black comedy. One of the best ideas that emerges is how the bulking up of Jackie is indicated with short-but-intense shots of her muscles actually growing. The subtle nod toward fantasy seems like a clear allusion to the ‘80s series The Incredible Hulk, a device that pays dividends by the end of the film.

Stewart turns in yet another fantastic performance, with her trademark low-key nature a perfect fit for the role. It works especially well given that O’Brian’s role requires her to be larger-than-life, both physically and in an acting sense. The two have definite chemistry and complement each other in many ways. The other main actors meet the same standard, but the best by far is Harris, who exudes menace better than almost any working actor today.

Love Lies Bleeding is the best lesbian bodybuilding crime film that you’re likely to see, showing that Glass – whose first film, Saint Maud, received much acclaim – is a rising filmmaking star. Anchored by the steady work of Stewart and a breakout role for O’Brian, it’s another feather in the cap for studio A24, which always seems to find unique stories.

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Love Lies Bleeding opens in theaters on March 15.

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Movie Review

Jessica Chastain drama Dreams stumbles through steamy romance

Photo courtesy of Teorema

Isaac Hernández and Jessica Chastain in Dreams.

The opening scenes of the new drama Dreams are bracing, fictional sequences that call to mind real-life scenarios. In them, a young Mexican man named Fernando (Isaac Hernández) goes through a somewhat harrowing journey from the back of a semi truck in South Texas all the way to San Francisco. It’s a familiar immigrant story that seems to set the stage for a film with something interesting to say.

It turns out, however, that Fernando has not made the long and arduous trek for a job. Instead, it’s to be with Jennifer McCarthy (Jessica Chastain), a rich woman who helps lead a foundation dedicated to multiple things, including funding dance academies. Fernando, a talented dancer, and Jennifer have been in an off-and-on affair for years, with Jennifer wanting to keep their relationship a secret.

Although both are drawn to each other in an inexplicable, lustful way, their bond is tenuous, with each of them dissatisfied for different reasons. Fernando clearly sacrifices much more of himself than Jennifer, who wants for nothing except maybe more affection from her father, Michael (Marshall Bell), and brother, Jake (Rupert Friend).

Writer/director Michel Franco seems to try to inject tension into Fernando and Jennifer’s relationship from the start, an attempt that is only halfway successful. It’s clear from the way they greet each other - not to mention a steamy sex scene shortly thereafter - that they have known each other for a good length of time. Franco is able to get across this familiarity with an economy of scenes, and the intensity of their bond holds for a while.

But as the film progresses and both of them grow disenchanted with their arrangement, Franco starts taking the story in some odd directions. The biggest issue is that it’s never clear at what point in time the story is taking place. Fernando ends up making multiple trips back and forth across the border, with Jennifer doing the same at one point, and Franco’s use of flashbacks muddies the waters, wrong-footing the audience when he should be trying to draw them further into Fernando and Jennifer’s complications.

Revelations in the final act make the story even more confusing, as both main characters start saying and doing harsh things that seem to come out of nowhere. That would be all well and good if Franco actually committed to their changes of heart, but he keeps things wishy-washy for most of the final 15 minutes, resulting in an ending that makes little sense for either character.

Despite the story issues, both Chastain and Hernández give compelling performances. Chastain has been a little under the radar since winning an Oscar for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, but she keeps this character interesting longer than it should have been. Hernández has limited credits and appears to have been cast for his dancing ability, but he goes toe-to-toe with Chastain on more than one occasion and acquits himself well.

Dreams had all of the ideas to explore a more in-depth story about the complicated immigration policies between Mexico and the U.S., or how wealthy people take advantage of those less fortunate. But Franco never finds the right footing, settling instead for a titillating and somewhat mystifying relationship story that feels half-baked.

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Dreams is now playing in select theaters.

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