52 Films by Women Vol 8. 17. Love Lies Bleeding (Director: Rose Glass)
Still courtesy of A24 Films (US) / Lionsgate (UK) Five years after her notable debut, Saint Maud , that took audiences into the delusional mind of a tortured, lonely, self-sacrificing nurse, director Rose Glass is in more cheerful mood with her long-awaited follow-up, Love Lies Bleeding , a film set in the late 1980s that pays homage to Thelma and Louise . She casts Twilight star Kristen Stewart, recently seen as Princess Diana, in a sharply contrasting role, as Lou, a gym manager first seen with her hand down a blocked toilet. Co-writing the script with director Weronika Tofilska, whose credits include the television series, Baby Reindeer , Glass explores the love at first sight romance between Lou and Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a body builder with a dark past who is on her way to Las Vegas on her way to a contest. Lou introduces Jackie to steroids, which has genuinely unexpected consequences. Glass’ mood is relative. The catalyst of the drama is domestic abuse. Lou’s sister, Beth (Jen...