Just in case you haven’t been paying attention, Kristen Stewart is an legitimately talented actor. I don’t know if anyone is really hanging onto her roles in the Twilight franchise as touchstones of her career, but I’m here to make sure you are not. Stewart has been in so many “mid” movies that the Alliance of Women Film Journalists have given her their “Actress Most in Need of a New Agent” award twice. What does that mean? Well, the way I read it is she’s the best thing in a lot of movies that aren’t great, and if she had a better agent she’d be getting roles that would better show off her talent. She’d also get more prestigious roles and be in the conversation when awards time comes around. She’s only been nominated for an Oscar once, for playing Princess Diana in SPENCER.
Maybe the tide is turning. Because she is finally in a movie that not only shows off her talent, but is also really good. In LOVE LIES BLEEDING Stewart is the co-lead with Katy O’Brian in a modern noir story about crime, family and love.
Stewart manages a gym in some small New Mexico town. O’Brian shows up one day looking for work to fund her dream of going to Las Vegas to participate in a body building competition. The two cross paths, share stories, steroids and finally hook up. Stewart also has a sister played by Jena Malone who is the victim of her abusive husband, Dave Franco. After some hook-up car sex, Franco gets O’Brian a job as a waitress at the gun range he works at. The range is managed by Ed Harris who also owns the gym and is Stewart’s father. When Malone is hospitalized after a particularly violent attack by Franco, Stewart is filled with rage. But it is O’Brian who acts on it, killing Franco in a particularly gory fashion.
That’s where the movie really takes off. Stewart tries to protect O’Brian and that goes all kinds of wrong. Harris gets involved because Malone is his daughter too, but killing Franco would get unwanted attention to his criminal activities and he’s already being looked at by the FBI. So, Stewart is caught in the middle. Help the woman she loves or do what her criminal father wants. The choice as you might imagine is not an easy one.
Director and screenwriter Rose Glass is on fire here. The script is taut and quite an effective nod to the genre in the best way possible. It owns the tropes without falling too much in love with them. Her directing is wonderful. In addition to the bloody killing, there are a few sex scenes between Stewart and O’Brian and while they are very erotic, they are not exploitive. They mean something to the film. How she evolves the characters and their stories works really well. She also takes advantage of the dusty New Mexico landscape to bring a mood to the movie.
I was enthralled with the whole exercise until the last five minutes. I’m not saying I didn’t like the way it ended but it was a left turn from the noir feeling of the rest of the film. It gave the characters a satisfying end, but the way Glass executed it still has me scratching my head a bit.
The acting is just fantastic. Stewart, as I mentioned is great. It’s not like she’s challenging herself but she knows her strengths and plays to them very well. O’Brian is a former body builder who uses her physique well in the film. She also conveys a pathos that make you feel for her even though she does horrific things. And, can any actor play a villain better than Harris? His craggy features and smoldering intensity make you think he’s a threat no matter the role.
Glass got plaudits for her last film, SAINT MAUD. I didn’t see it but it motivated A24 give her another shot. And LOVE LIES BLEEDING continues her trajectory to a unique and elite voice in film.
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