Final film viewing of the year (2024) goes to the bleakest of love stories. We’re introduced to an out of town gym. You know the kind. A bit gritty, not a leg warmer in sight. Lou (Kristen Stewart) is in charge, but it’s not a lavish life, she spends half her time unblocking toilets. We’re in the southern states, dusty streets, double denim, bad haircuts (although half these dodgy 80s looks are back in now). She has a sister, Beth (Jena Malone) who gets repeatedly beat up by her husband, JJ (Dave Franco) a cheating scumbag deadbeat. His boss is Lou Sr. (Ed Harris), they run a gun range, that out of towner, Jackie (Katy O’Brian) finds herself working at. All quite bleak and deadend, until Jackie frequents the gym and meets Lou. Jackie you see is a body builder, hitching her way to Vegas for a competition. After Jackie and Lou spend the night together, the connections all come into focus. Lou Sr. is Lou’s father. They do not get on. He doesn’t care about Lou being gay. Lou does care about him being a nasty bastard gun runner. She cares more about Jackie though. Smooth sailing love story it is not. Both Jackie and Lou have messy lives, but we’re in Lou’s town so it’s her issues that are front and centre. After Beth takes a particularly brutal beating. Jackie makes their lives even messier. It’s a savage rollercoaster that just keeps descending. The FBI are snooping around Lou Sr., Jackie is losing control (with some devastating body horror steroid fuelled visions) and Lou’s ex, Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov) is threatening to unravel all Lou’s not so well laid plans. Tense, violent, bloody violent. It all serves the story though and it’s brilliant. Ed Harris is terrifying. Kristen Stewart is magnificent. It’s not for the faint hearted, but if you can handle the violence, this is a beautifully twisted dark tale of love.
7/10
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