Review of Love Lies Bleeding

In 1989 reclusive gym manager Louise "Lou" Langston meets and becomes enamored with Jackie Cleaver, an itinerant bodybuilder and recent hire of Lou's father, who's the resident criminal taskmaster. A hot and heavy romance ignites between Lou and Jackie, leading to a series of catastrophic events that plunge Lou deeper and deeper into her shady family ties. Dark, grimy, lustful and violent neo-noir does lack a powerful ending, but offers plenty of twists and turns along with an atmosphere of unsettling dread to keep things riveting, plus there are strong performances to boot. Stewart does quite a bang-up job in a challenging role that requires her to become unhinged, O'Brien is a real force of nature, while venerable Harris is assuredly menacing in a role he could play in his sleep. **½