Suspicious Minds and Dead Bodies: Queer Romance and Skepticism in Rose Glass’s Love Lies Bleeding

In Stanley Cavell’s classical Hollywood “comedies of remarriage,” couples overcome their feelings of doubt and insecurity in their relationship through conversation and confrontation, resulting in a form of mutual acknowledgment that spurs a meaningful connection with each other and with the world. Rose Glass’s neo-noir Love Lies Bleeding explores many of the ideas Cavell considers in the context of love, desire, conflict and conversation between two women. This article explores how the film’s central couple, comprising detached tomboy Lou (Kristen Stewart) and volatile bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O’Brien), both confirms and questions the terms of Cavell’s remarriage comedies’ relation to skeptical doubt and the shared fantasy of everyday adventure.