in brief: aspiring bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O’Brian) falls for gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart), but gets caught up in Lou’s troubled family.
for me: if, like me, you enjoyed lesbian crime caper Drive-Away Dolls, then boy do i have an upgrade for you! Coen’s solo debut was breezy and camp, and watched a series of mistakes turn into a cauldron from which love eventually emerged. Rose Glass‘ sophomore film is more epic than her debut, Saint Maud, and eschews the overt horror trappings to go straight to the passionate fascination and connection between Lou and Jackie. there is a joke that a lesbian third date is ‘the u-haul date’, but these two are living together and borderline dying for each other after a single kiss, such is the intensity of their attraction. Lou doesn’t just find Jackie’s physique attractive, but she is fascinated by the process and performance of her discipline, longs to be involved, and mythologises her strong, protective lover. this almost feels more like the Coen movie of the year, with distinctive character designs drawn from the odder side of america’s heartland, but the film doesn’t go for too long without reminding its audience that Glass is a genre film-maker, with moments of horror that surpass anything in her actual horror film debut for sheer brutal shock factor. the film toys with superhero and anime iconography, as Jackie is far beyond anything Lou has imagined, and as the film builds to its surprisingly restrained ending the glimpses of Lou’s imagination and hero worship intensify into a make or break image. it’s the boldest swing the film takes, but for a project that is all about transformation – whether that’s the discipline to sculpt a physique or the hard work of breaking an addiction – it makes perfect sense. (it’s also the best tennis court scene in any film ever, sorry Z.)
mvp: if it was Kristen, it would be because her comic timing is flawless, as ever; if it was Mary and Lindsay it would seal a dominant weekend for casting; if it was Katy it would be decried as Star Wars bias; if it was Ed at least half of it would go to his hair stylist. it is none of those, however, because despite everything that makes them very different, this is once again a Rose Glass film, and that is a wonderful thing. it’s all about relationships, but from the isolating, intimate close-ups to the wide, starry New Mexico sky, there is so much isolation and longing. the inner life of the characters seeps out visually, and the film could almost play without dialogue, except that the dialogue is raw and rich and gives so much. i’m trying to think of a more impressive and exciting one-two punch to open a career, and other than putting Julia Ducournau on a similar level i’m currently stumped.
verdict: it seems to be a smaller release into tiny screens, but there’s still time to book those out and make the multiplexes host Love Lies Bleeding for weeks to come. stylish, steamy, brutal, and beautiful, it’s five easy stars, and one of my films of the year.
director Rose Glass // writers Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska // released 03/05/24
onedottoomany 