Love Lies Bleeding review – Kristen Stewart keeps it real in deliciously lurid outlaw romance
Rose Glass’s follow-up to her acclaimed Saint Maud is a scorchingly sexy, darkly violent tale of a gym manager’s love affair with a bodybuilder
This may seem an unexpected point to make about an actor who is arguably one of the coolest people on the planet, but the key to Kristen Stewart’s mesmerising screen presence is her ordinariness. I don’t mean her looks, although as Lou, the manager of a bodybuilding gym in an insalubrious New Mexico backwater, Stewart’s natural magnetism is somewhat muted behind a whey powder pallor, an air of defeated weariness and hair that looks as if it’s been deep-fried rather than washed.
Rather, it’s the unstudied, naturalistic quality of her performances, which are seeded with little glitchy details and gestures – the way she rakes her fingers through her fringe; the moment when she nervously wipes her nose on the sleeve of her T-shirt. Small things, perhaps, but these seemingly unconscious tics humanise her characters. They are recognisable, relatable moments of social awkwardness that anchor her in (or at least near) the real world. It’s a quality that adds to all her performances, but which is particularly invaluable in British director Rose Glass’s second picture, the deliciously lurid and thrillingly degenerate outlaw romance Love Lies Bleeding. When the rest of the movie launches itself headlong into outlandish, almost cartoonish excess, Lou is plausibly three-dimensional and grounded. The rooted realism that underpins Stewart’s performance offers a necessary balance to some of the more untrammelled impulses in Glass’s follow-up to her impressive debut feature, Saint Maud (2020).
Continue reading...Date: |
Filter
-
Cohen Wavers on Recollection of Key Conversation With Trump at Trial
The cross-examination by Donald Trump’s legal team has put the former fixer’s credibility under greater scrutiny.The Wall Street Journal - World - Donald Trump -
Evening Report — Cohen faces questions about background, past lies
A quick recap of the day and what to look forward to tomorrow {beacon} Evening Report © Elizabeth Williams via AP Cohen takes a grilling on Trump trial witness stand Michael Cohen, former President Trump's one-time lawyer and "fixer" took ...The Hill - Politics -
‘Her stories are life itself’: Yiyun Li on the genius of Alice Munro
The Chinese American author of The Book of Goose pays tribute to the late writer, reflecting on the rich rewards of revisiting her stories over many years. A life in quotes: Alice MunroFive of the best Alice Munro short storiesTwo days after Alice ...The Guardian - World -
Ex-military surgeons embrace new mission: stop Americans from bleeding to death
A movement to revolutionize the treatment of trauma patients in the U.S. can be traced to an infamous battle fought in East Africa more than 30 years ago.NBC News - Top stories
More from The Guardian
-
Israeli abuse of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti ‘amounts to torture’
With thousands now held without charge, lawyers say Israel is signalling that no detainee is safe. Marwan Barghouti spends his days huddled in a cramped, dark, solitary cell, with no way to tend to his wounds, and a shoulder injury from being ...The Guardian - World - Israel -
OpenAI putting ‘shiny products’ above safety, says departing researcher
Jan Leike, a key safety researcher at firm behind ChatGPT, quit days after launch of its latest AI model, GPT-4o. A former senior employee at OpenAI has said the company behind ChatGPT is prioritising “shiny products” over safety, revealing that ...The Guardian - World -
Georgian president vetoes ‘foreign influence’ law
Salome Zourabichvili says bill contradicts constitution but ruling party is expected to override her action in coming days. Georgia’s president has vetoed a “foreign agents” bill that has split the country and appealed to the government not to ...The Guardian - World -
Suspect in court as Putin’s friends capitalise on shooting of Slovakian PM Robert Fico
Media is barred from hearing as 71-year-old man appears in closed session over attempted assassination of prime minister. The suspect in the shooting of Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico appeared in a closed court hearing on Saturday outside ...The Guardian - World -
Fresh floods in Afghanistan kill at least 50 after heavy rain brings devastation
Thousands of homes and farming land damaged in Ghor province, a week after over 300 killed in flash floods. At least 50 people were killed in a fresh bout of heavy rain and flooding in central Afghanistan, according to an official.. Dozens others ...The Guardian - World