With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we’re here to remind you that the greatest queer thriller is available on Max for your streaming enjoyment. What better way to celebrate the holiday of love than with a fightback at heteronormativity and the patriarchy? Toss inKristen StewartandKaty O’Brian, and you’ve got a hit throughRose Glass’s sophomore feature,Love Lies Bleeding. While the movie — at its core — is a gritty love story mixed with a crime drama, there’s also a fantastical element that many won’t see coming — although those who caught the director’s debut film,Saint Maud, totally know where the vibes came from. With an ensemble that includesDave Franco,Jena Malone, andEd Harris, you’ll want to addLove Lies Bleedingto your V-Day watchlist.
Jackie (O’Brian) is the new girl in a dusty, quiet Texas town. An aspiring body builder, she’s just passing through but ends up staying a little longer aftersecuring a job at a gun rangeowned by Lou Sr. (Harris). While training for a contest in Las Vegas, she becomes a member at the local gym that’s managed by Lou Sr.’s daughter, aptly also named Lou (Stewart). Jackie and Lou quickly hit it off and embark on a steamy, sexually-driven relationship that also happens to be fueled by steroid usage. Meanwhile, Lou Jr. is trying to step out of her father’s crime-driven shadow while also protecting her sister, Beth (Malone), from her unhinged husband’s (Franco) volatile rage. What ends upculminating is a sensual, roid-driven storylineas the two lovers do everything they can to escape the Lone Star state and hold their relationship together.
Rose Glass Took On a Different Genre with ‘Love Lies Bleeding’
After helming a handful of short films, Glass took a huge step forward in her career with the 2019 release ofSaint Maude. Further solidifying thepsychological horror flickas her own, Glass also penned the feature’s script, with her work recognized at the BAFTAs forOutstanding British Filmand Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. StarringMorfydd Clark(The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), the mind-bending production centers around a devoutly religious caretaker who has committed herself to saving the soul of her latest patient.
With her debut production solidifying her name as an on-the-rise filmmaker and writer to watch, Glass knew that she wanted to delve into something completely different with her sophomore feature. Speaking with Collider’sPerri NemiroffatLove Lies Bleeding’sSundance premiere last year, Glass explained,
“I think going into it, I just knew thatI wanted to try something different and take some risks and challenge myself. I knew I wanted to make something fun and kind of bombastic and pulpy. I didn’t have a clear view of the story yet.”
As those who check out the thriller on Max will come to discover, Glass did exactly that and delivered an incredibly solid and entertaining follow-up feature.
Love Lies Bleedingis now streaming on Max.
Love Lies Bleeding
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