This past fall, Kristen Stewart gave one of her finest performances as the late Princess Diana in Pablo Larrain's gorgeously somber, esoteric character study, Spencer. Continuing the Twilight star's tradition of challenging herself by allowing herself to play quiet, demurred women who struggle to fit into common society, often due to internal or external pressures (or both), Stewart shines brightly as an A-list actress who plays both into and against her image in immersive, fascinating, singular, rich, and compelling ways.
Surely, that tradition will continue with her latest leading role in Love Lies Bleeding, an A24-produced romantic thriller co-written and directed by Rose Glass, who made her feature directorial debut with last year's unjustly overlooked horror film, Saint Maud. Another unsettling character study that keyed on a young woman growing only increasingly frazzled by her own internal anguish, it makes total sense that Stewart would want to work under Glass' assured vision. Hopefully, this newest project should prove to be another great collaboration between the distinguished star and a notable up-and-coming filmmaker.
While details remain limited about what the project will entail, we know about Love Lies Bleeding follows a "romance fuelled by ego, desire, and the American Dream." We also know that Glass co-wrote the film with Weronika Tofilska, who helmed episodes of Netflix's The Irregulars and Amazon Prime's Hanna. She is also set to direct the Season 3 premiere of HBO's His Dark Materials. Celebrated for how she can mix suspense with dark humor, it's no wonder that Tofilska will find herself collaborating with Glass, who was also able to mine moments of pitch-black comedy between moments of surrealistic fright and moral uncertainty in Saint Maud. Though Love Lies Bleeding is labeled a thriller, not a horror, it's easy to assume that horror elements will factor into the plot, based on the work of these two assured filmmakers.
Saint Maud Review: A24 Horror Delivers A Carnal Crisis of Faith
Furthermore, A24 will produce the film alongside Andrea Cornwell of Lobo Films and Oliver Kassman of Escape Plan Productions. Love Lies Bleeding will also be a collaboration between A24 and Film4. The latter developed it as it enters pre-production, but A24 is co-developing and co-financing the project.
Though its stateside release was unfortunately botched by delays related to COVID-19, Saint Maud has garnered interest and acclaim from horror aficionados and in critic circles. Specifically, Glass received the Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director at the British Independent Film Awards. Also, the debut director won British/Irish Film of the Year and Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker of the Year at the London Film Critics Circle Awards. One hopes that Saint Maud will finally get its proper due in the U.S. whenever Love Lies Bleeding makes its way into theaters either later this year or sometime in 2023.
While Love Lies Bleeding is the first project that Stewart has been attached to since the actress received her first Oscar nomination earlier this year, it won't be her follow-up. Next, she'll be seen in Crimes of the Future, the latest movie from David Cronenberg, which will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.