Weekend films

'Love Lies Bleeding', a revenge-movie that is half-involved

Rose Glass' new feature film starring Kristen Stewart is now in cinemas. Also among the new releases is 'Anywhere, Anytime', presented at the Venice Film Festival

13 September 2024

3' min read

A fascinating film, but with too much meat on the fire: this is how one can sum up 'Love Lies Bleeding', the eagerly awaited film coming out in our cinemas this week, directed by Rose Glass.

This is the second feature by the British director, who made her debut with the successful 'Santa Maud' in 2019 and now raises the bar of ambition with this new film starring Kristen Stewart.

The American actress plays the role of Lou, a girl who works in a gym in a small town in New Mexico and who one evening crosses her path with Jackie, a bodybuilder determined to go to Las Vegas to take part in a major competition.

Love Lies Bleeding” e gli altri film della settimana
Photogallery4 foto

The two will fall in love, but their relationship will start a whirlwind of violence, involving several members of the family of Lou, the daughter of the manager of a gun club and a powerful figure in the local criminal market.

Opened by a beautiful movement of the camera, which starts from the belly of a crater in the middle of the desert to move towards the starry sky and then approach the gymnasium from which the entire narrative takes its basis, "Love Lies Bleeding" is an operation that does not leave one indifferent, capable of being quite original, despite the numerous references that can be linked to the history of cinema: from Ridley Scott's "Thelma & Louise" to a more contemporary imagery inherent especially to several body horror films such as Julia Ducournau's "Titane", a Palme d'Or winner at the Cannes Film Festival 2021.

The charm is not lacking but there is too much meat on the fire

In the first part of the film, the involvement is very high, thanks to the excellent rhythm of the editing and to visual and sound choices that confirm the good talent of Rose Glass. The remarkable premises, however, are not entirely maintained as the minutes pass, especially towards a final part in which the director seems to lose the reins of her creature, putting too much flesh on the fire and exaggerating with some narrative and stylistic gimmicks.

Although it is a deliberately violent and brutal film, even in the proposed food for thought, more subtlety would have done the film good and would have made it more exciting to watch.

A good performance by the entire cast, in which, in addition to Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian and Ed Harris stand out positively.

Anywhere, Anytime

From this year's Venice International Film Critics' Week comes 'Anywhere Anytime', the feature-length fiction debut for Milad Tangshir, a director born in Tehran in 1983 and who moved to Italy in 2011.

At the centre of the story is Issa, a young illegal immigrant only 18 years old, who manages to survive in Italy without papers. After losing his job, thanks to a friend who lends him his identity, he starts working as a rider: this precarious balance, however, completely collapses when his bicycle is stolen, triggering a series of dramatic events.

Vittorio De Sica with his masterpiece 'Bicycle Thieves' immediately comes to mind when reading the plot of this rather derivative film in the script, but capable of being incisive in the staging.

Tangshir has a good hand and his is a mature and highly topical first work: what happens to Issa is always believable and one can strongly empathise with his dramatic story.

The handling of the pace is also excellent for a film that makes one feel the tension of what it is telling, especially in the remarkable final part. The result is a good debut that bodes well for the future career of its author.