Love Lies Bleeding is an exhilarating ride from beginning to end. Whether that’s because of its status as a tense crime thriller, its brutal violence, its sultry central romance or a combination of all three, the pulpy, pulsing power of this movie cannot be denied.

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LOVE LIES BLEEDING ★★★1/2 (3.5/4 stars)
Directed by: Rose Glass
Written by: Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian, Jena Malone, Dave Franco, Ed Harris
Running time: 104 mins.

In a sweaty, grimy gym in the American southwest of the ‘80s, we meet Lou (Kristen Stewart). She runs the place, from cleaning the toilets to handing off steroids to a handful of muscle men patrons, but she’s hardly successful or fulfilled. No, she’s really just lingering in her hometown, desperate to get out from under the thumb of her criminal father (Ed Harris) but still stuck in his orbit. Lou’s social life is all but empty, save for the doting, draining Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov) and occasional visits to her sister Beth (Jena Malone) and her scummy husband JJ (Dave Franco). So when a striking new woman strolls........

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