Written and directed by Rose Glass, who is also known for her 2019 horror film St. Maud, Love Lies Bleeding first premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it received great reviews.
Set in 1989, Stewart plays a gym manager, and Katy O’Brien portrays a bodybuilder who trains at her gym. They have an instant connection, and the sexual tension between them quickly builds. But as Love Lies Bleeding shows, romance can be complicated.
The film also stars Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco, and Ed Harris. It blends a tender romance with a noir crime thriller that will keep you on your toes. The film concludes with a surprising—and certainly not unwelcome—shift into magical realism, which might leave some viewers puzzled.
Plot of the Movie
Kristen Stewart plays Lou, a lesbian living in a small town in rural New Mexico in 1989. Lou manages a local gym and notices a new regular, Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a bodybuilder who is in town training for a competition in Las Vegas.
The two women feel a strong connection, and after a heated moment where Lou offers Jackie steroids, which Jackie eventually takes, they start a physical relationship. Jackie moves in with Lou while continuing her training, but as she takes more steroids, her behavior becomes unpredictable and aggressive. Despite this, they grow closer and fall in love.
At the same time, Lou is dealing with family issues. She tries to protect her sister, Beth (Jena Malone), from Beth’s abusive husband, JJ (Dave Franco), and also tries to shield her estranged father, Lou Sr. (Ed Harris), from an FBI investigation.
The reason for the FBI’s interest in Lou Sr. isn’t entirely clear, but it’s likely related to the illegal guns he smuggles through the gun range he operates, where Jackie gets a job.
One day, JJ beats Beth so badly that she ends up in the hospital. Jackie accompanies Lou to visit Beth and becomes furious at what JJ has done. Lou Sr. promises to handle JJ, but Jackie, seeing how upset Lou is, decides to take action herself.
Fueled by steroid-induced anger, Jackie goes to JJ’s house and kills him. Lou arrives and is shocked but quickly takes charge. Together, they dispose of JJ’s body in a ravine.
Love Lies Bleeding Ending Explained: Does Jackie Became a Giant?On their way to dump the body, they encounter Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov), Lou’s friend and someone who is overly interested in her. It’s revealed that Lou has previously helped her father dispose of other bodies in the same ravine.
Lou and Jackie clean JJ’s house to get rid of any evidence. Jackie tells Lou she still wants to compete in the bodybuilding competition in Vegas, even though Lou begs her not to leave the state until they are safe. They argue, and Jackie leaves for the competition.
During the event, Jackie has strong hallucinations because of the steroids and stress. She ends up attacking another bodybuilder and is arrested.
Back in New Mexico, Daisy figures out that Lou is involved in JJ’s disappearance and blackmails her into a relationship. Lou Sr. gets Jackie out of jail and persuades her to kill Daisy.
Jackie does this, shooting Daisy from behind at Lou’s apartment. Jackie runs away in fear, while Lou is left to deal with the aftermath. Lou Sr. calls Lou and explains that he made Jackie kill Daisy to protect Lou.
He also admits that he kidnapped Jackie and plans to blame her for all the murders the FBI is looking into. He warns Lou that if she tries to stop him, he will use the dead body in her apartment to frame her as well.
Lou then threatens to tell the authorities about the remains in the ravine and everything he has done unless he releases Jackie.
Shortly after the call, a corrupt police officer, who Lou Sr. paid, arrives at Lou’s apartment and tries to kill her. Lou fights back and knocks him out. She puts Daisy’s body in her truck and drives to her father’s mansion to rescue her girlfriend.
Love Lies Bleeding Ending Explained
At Lou Sr.’s mansion, Lou meets her sister, Beth. Beth knows Lou was involved in JJ’s death and doesn’t forgive her. She tells Lou she knows nothing about love. But Beth is wrong. Lou makes Beth’s injuries worse and gets her to tell where Lou Sr. is keeping Jackie.
Lou finds Jackie tied up in an equipment shed and frees her. At first, Jackie—still confused and affected by steroids—thinks Lou betrayed her. Lou tells Jackie she loves her and that she hasn’t done anything wrong. (After all, what’s a few murders between girlfriends?) Lou convinces Jackie, and herself, that one murder was necessary and the other wasn’t Jackie’s fault.
Love Lies Bleeding Ending Explained: Does Jackie Became a Giant?Before they can escape, Lou Sr. confronts them. He shoots Lou in the leg, and it seems like he might kill her… but then something strange happens. In a sudden, surreal, steroid-fueled rage, Jackie transforms into a huge, giant woman.
As a giant, Jackie easily overpowers Lou Sr. and protects Lou. Together, they escape in Lou’s truck, ready to begin a new life. In the final scene, Jackie falls asleep in the passenger seat while Lou drives.
Lou hears noises from the truck bed and realizes Daisy is still barely alive. Lou calmly strangles Daisy to death and throws her body out, all while Jackie sleeps peacefully.
The message here is that both Jackie and Lou have completely lost themselves because of love. Neither of them are “good” people anymore. Lou has become like her father, and Jackie is out of control, driven by drug-fueled anger. But they are in love and will do anything to protect each other.