Bleeding Love movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Bleeding Love

This dramatic indie road trip movie is now playing in select theaters, as well as on Amazon Prime.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 42 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B+

IN A NUTSHELL:

The story is about a father who takes his estranged daughter on a road trip in an effort to get her out of trouble. Along the way, they meet all types of strangers, as their strained relationship is put to the test.

The film was directed by Emma Westenberg. Writing credits go to newbie Ruby Caster, along with Clara McGregor, and Vera Bulder.

While critics have blasted the film with a low rating of only 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences have proved they enjoyed it by awarding it an 80%. I really enjoyed it.

THINGS I LIKED:

I adore Ewan McGregor in everything he does. I was curious to “meet” his eldest daughter, Clara. I hadn’t seen her in anything before, although she has been in several films already. In real life, there was a time when she called him an A-hole for leaving her mother. Clara and her father were estranged for a time, so what they bring to these roles can be said to be truly authentic. The father in the story left his wife and began a new family with a new woman, just like Ewan McGregor did.
The names of the father and daughter are just that: Father, Daughter to make them more relatable to the audience, as their story has been told many times.
There’s a cute scene where we get to hear Ewan McGregor sing the Leona Lewis song “Bleeding Love” on the radio. His enthusiasm gets his daughter singing along and they have a sweet moment until a phone call interrupts them. The movie gets its title from this moment, which also describes the troubled father/daughter relationship featured in the film. If you really want to hear him belt it out, watch Moulin Rouge! https://amzn.to/4bEuWPk
Many flashbacks fill in the missing details and allow us to see the once close relationship between father/daughter.
It’s heartbreaking to see Daughter constantly searching for harmful substances and self-destruction.
Great soundtrack.
I liked the direction that included many closeups, as well as expanded shots to give us perspective of time and clarity.
The color palette offers a slightly hazy stupor to show us what Daughter is going through.
I never knew that people put coins on railroad tracks!

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The film is very slow moving.
We see and hear Clara pee behind the truck several times. At one point, it’s an important part of the story and, honestly, we girls have to pee way more often than guys do. Ha ha

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will be bored.
A young woman consumes cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol
We see a young woman throw up. Ick.
Profanity and F-bombs
A hooker propositions Father and helps Daughter with a spider bite in her private parts
Talk of going to rehab.
We see a young woman make terrible choices that include stealing, lying, boozing, doing drugs, and putting herself in dangerous situations.

THEMES:

Family
Connection
Addiction and recovery
Pain
Regret
Memories
Anger
Forgiveness and redemption
Estranged relationships

FUNNY LINES:

“Are you trying to enter some lung cancer competition or something?” – Father (Ewan McGregor)
“You can blame your mum for your overactive bladder.” – Father (Ewan McGregor)
“Somebody order a stripper? Ah, just messing.” – Elsie (Kim Zimmer)
“I was the biggest thing to happen except that U.F.O.” – Elsie (Kim Zimmer)
“All grown up now. I remember you used to be way more fun.” – Daughter (Clara McGregor)
“Now, don’t make direct contact with anyone. Ha ha” – Elsie (Kim Zimmer)