It was over an awkward meeting in a fancy London hotel room in late 2021 that Rose Glass first pitched Kristen Stewart her then rough idea for “Love Lies Bleeding,” a wild romantic thriller set amid the bodybuilding scene in 80s New Mexico.
The director, whose debut feature “Saint Maud” released the previous year, admits to finding herself “unexpectedly star struck” on being introduced to the actress, in town for the U.K. premiere of “Spencer,” and says she “waffled on at her for ages, probably not making much sense.” Glass also recalls making a terrible joke about the pheasants in “Spencer” that landed with a thud. “I just thought it went terribly and that I’d never talk to her again,” she admits to PvNew, speaking ahead of “Loves Lies Bleeding’s” European premiere at the Berlinale
Thankfully, after the meeting, Stewart —perhaps sensing Glass’ nerves — sent her a nice message saying that she’d love to read the “Love Lies Bleeding” script when it was ready.
As it turned out, Stewart had also loved Saint Maud. Following a troubled and God-fearing palliative care nurse (played to perfection in a breakout lead turn by Morfydd Clark), the psychological horror was critically adored (and very briefly topped “Tenet” in the U.K. box office), marking Glass out as a bold and exciting new cinematic voice. A24 had acquired the film following its Toronto bow in 2019. For “Love Lies Bleeding,” the studio came onboard much earlier on (although both films were developed from infancy with Film4).
Rose had teased that she’d wanted to go in a different direction for her sophomore feature and “avoid the temptation to do the sensible, tasteful thing.” But it’s unlikely many anticipated just how far she’d go.
Penned alongside fellow National Film and TV School grad Weronika Tofilska, “Love Lies Bleeding” sees Stewart play Lou, the lonely manager of a gym that drips in sweat and ‘roids; a lost soul who becomes embroiled not only in a passionate relationship with an ambitious female bodybuilder (Katy O’Brian), but also a complex and murderous tussle with her vile, abusive husband-in-law (Dave Franco) and criminal father (Ed Harris). There’s blood, gore, sex and vomit, plus close ups of needle injections and veins bulging out of overstretched muscles (complete with stretchy sound effects). At a test screening in New York long before it premiered in Sundance, the audience reportedly had a “visceral” reaction to the film, which was described at the time as “’Pain & Gain’ for indie lesbians.’”
“I think we liked the idea of doing a romance that was an anti-romance, pushing against the idea that romantic love is this aspirational thing that brings out the best in people,” says Glass. “Love Lies Bleeding” also pushed against the more comfortable filmmaking confines she had created for her debut.
“I remember after ‘Saint Maud’ saying, I’m so glad I wrote something that was just two characters in one location, I’ll definitely do that going forward,” she says. “But it just kept on sprawling out into this unknown.”
Sprawling it may have been (Glass recalls days on set when she’d look around and think “what the fuck am I doing?”), but “Love Lies Bleeding” did give the rising director the chance spread her wings into uncharted and ambitious territories. Which, as she notes, is what it’s all about.
“You sort of feel like you need to push yourself or test what you can and can’t do, because that’s the way you make something that’s interesting.”
Glass is already writing her next project, something she —perhaps predictably —says will “probably go in a slightly different direction.” But it will follow the footsteps of Maud and Lou and focus on characters who take themselves to the extremes, and then some more.
Says Glass: “I just find that the most entertaining thing to watch from the comfort of a cinema seat.”
