Rose Glass and A24’s “Love Lies Bleeding” was test-screened this past March.” The film, co-written by Glass and Weronika Tofilska, was shot in the summer of 2022 and had been tipped, by some, for a Cannes sidebar appearance. That didn’t materialize.
Now we’re hearing that the film will be released “early next year” with a possible launch at the Sundance Film Festival. Here’s the test reaction I gathered back in March:
“Test screened in NYC tonight. Audience was having visceral reactions to the gore, blood and puking throughout. Has a strange ending that will make this a love it or hate it type movie. “Pain & Gain” for indie lesbians. Ed Harris is great and Katy O’Brian as well. I wasn’t fully on-board this one, it’s kind of a mess, and I loved “Saint Maud”!”
Stewart is said to be very good in the role, but it’s a co-lead. She excels at these kinds of brooding, contemplative parts. As mentioned, A24 is distributing it and they’ve opted to not send it to the fall festivals this year.
“Love Lies Bleeding” tells the story of an aspiring bisexual bodybuilder in the late 1980s who moves to a small rural Nevada town from Oklahoma and falls madly in love with Kristen Stewart’s character who works at the local gym. In a twist of fate, K-Stew’s character is also her new boss’ daughter who introduces her to the world of steroids, and also gets mixed in with their family drama.
The film stars Kristen Stewart, Ed Harris and Dave Franco and is being described as “a romantic thriller set in the bodybuilding world.” There’s romance, ego, desire and the American Dream.
Glass’ 2019 debut “Saint Maud” premiered at TIFF, where it gathered very good reviews and put Glass on the map as a filmmaker to watch. A24 produced that one as well, but it didn’t necessarily make as big of a splash Stateside as it did in Glass’ UK home turf.