Love Lies Bleeding

1989: Lou (Kristen Stewart) runs a gym in a large desert town in New Mexico for her father Lou Sr. (Ed Harris) despite the two being estranged and barely talking. Lou is abrasive and hates the customers but she has good reason: it's a shit job. She has an occasional hookup with the irritatingly clingy Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov) but seemingly no friends apart from her sister.

Into town breezes Jackie (Katy O'Brian), skint and hitchhiking her way to Las Vegas for a bodybuilding competition. They immediately spark. By way of flirting Lou offers Jackie steroids from the gym stash.

No good will come of this.

CW: violence, injury detail and lots of sweaty flesh

"Don't fall in love: it hurts"

Rose Glass follows up Saint Maud with a violent romance that channels the spiralling poor decisions of a game of Fiasco, or for more cinematic references: Fargo, or True Romance.

Mildly psychedelic in places it uses this to really hammer home the pair's state of mind as things get out of hand. Lou is self-reliant/selfish to a fault and Jackie out of her depth/control. Lou Sr. is an obvious villain but he's not unhelpful. There's two FBI agents, a corrupt cop, lots of guns, a body in the trunk and only a few days to that big competition so best pump some iron.

Highly recommended 9/10.