Bad '80s hair, bodybuilding and gratuitous violence give 'Love Lies Bleeding' a noir twist

“Love Lies Bleeding” is wild. A twisted take on noir, it's a real gut punch of a movie that will make you laugh and cringe and, if you haven’t already, join the Kristen Stewart fan club.

Sign up for the Rose Glass one, while you’re at it. Glass directs the film like a fist to the face, but also has a light touch with comedy, a necessary ingredient in a movie like this. The violence is intense, sickening at times, but laced with a dose of humor — the kind of thing where you see the condition of an unfortunate fellow after winding up on the losing end of a fight and you instinctively yell, “Gross!” and then chuckle, because you can’t help yourself. That’s taking control of a movie, which is exactly what Glass does.

What is 'Love Lies Bleeding' about?

Stewart plays Lou, who works in a crummy little gym in a crummy little town in New Mexico in 1989. It’s a real glamorous life — we first see her as she is unclogging a disgusting toilet. One night a woman bodybuilder comes in, Jackie (Katy O’Brian). Lou is intrigued, and they wind up talking outside after hours. When a guy starts getting aggressive with Jackie, she punches him in the face. He punches her right back, but Lou is able to break up the fight.

Soon they’re at Lou’s house, icing Jackie’s eye. Soon after that they’re in Lou’s bed. And soon after THAT, Jackie has moved in. It’s clear they need each other and revel in each other. But there’s a lot going on. Jackie is training for a competition in Las Vegas, and Lou, who has a nice little black-market steroid business running through the gym, helps her juice. Jackie’s physique grows ever stronger, ever harder, even as her temper grows shorter.

Then there is the matter of Lou Sr. (Ed Harris, great and creepy as all get out). Lou’s father runs the town, sort of like a low-level mobster in a mob that only employs flunkies and toadies with nothing better to do. But make no mistake, he is ruthless, and there’s no such thing as a family pass.

All of this and more will come together in an ugly stew of trouble. Glass, who also co-wrote the film, moves confidently, with lurid flashbacks that piece things together bit by bit, adding occasional touches of what you could call magical realism filtered through gritty film noir. It’s audacious — and it works.

You can't take your eyes off Kristen Stewart

But let’s talk about the hair.

The wig Ed sports says a lot about his character, and the movie. Long, wispy, somewhere between gross and hilarious, it announces him as trouble. Danger practically radiates off him. In one scene he’s put it into a ponytail, and you want to yell at the screen, let it down! (Dave Franco, who plays a particularly disreputable sort, also does not disappoint on the bad-hair front.)

O’Brian (who sports a curly mop of hair that is also perfect for the time) is quite good in a tricky role; Jackie is both naive and, by necessity, street-smart. She is also focused on Vegas and the competition, even as violence and evil are exploding around her.

But the whole thing runs through Stewart, and she’s great — just one of those movie stars you can’t take your eyes off. (For the record, she has a shag haircut, sloppy and rushed looking, as befits the character.) Her Lou is twitchy, nervous, unable to trust anything about her life and with good reason. Her performance keeps the movie on edge, and by extension, the audience, as well. It’s an interesting performance — the movie is non-stop, pedal-to-the-metal seedy grime, but Stewart’s Lou never seems rushed. She’s seen some things. But that doesn’t mean life won’t throw a few more in her way.

“Love Lies Bleeding” has plenty of surprises in store.

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'Love Lies Bleeding' 4 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: Rose Glass.

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian, Ed Harris.

Rating: R for violence and grisly images, sexual content, nudity, language throughout and drug use.

How to watch: In theaters Friday, March 15.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Love Lies Bleeding' review: Dark comedy with bodybuilding and mullets