Upamanyu Biswas
Rose Glass’ romantic thriller ‘Love Lies Bleeding‘ follows Louise “Lou” Langston, who gets swept up in a tempestuous romance with Jackie Cleaver, an aspiring bodybuilder who drops into the former’s town in New Mexico on her journey to Las Vegas to participate in a bodybuilding competition. The two meet each other at Crater Gym, an establishment run by Lou, who spends her time engaging with requests and dealing with shortcomings of the place’s facilities. The gym also serves as the backdrop of the film’s grungy aesthetic, as the two central characters form an instant attraction during Jackie’s nightly muscle-building excursions!
Crater Gym Does Not Exist in Reality
Although Crater Gym is a pivotal part of the narrative of ‘Love Lies Bleeding,’ it is a fictional establishment conceived by Rose Glass and her co-writer Weronika Tofilska. The gym is at the heart of the bodybuilding culture explored within the narrative. Managed by Lou, the protagonist has to manually deal with the problems that regularly surface on the premises, ranging from the clogged toilet to the broken vending machine. However, when Jackie stops by the town, the young bodybuilder catches Lou’s eye, forming instant chemistry and sexual tension between the pair. With its sweaty patrons and muscle-bound athletes, the gym also highlights the obsession with fitness culture that gripped the populace in the 1980s.
The interiors of Crater Gym and its patrons embody the bodybuilding movement of the time, brought to life through leotards, music exercises, aerobic classes, and increasing awareness of physical fitness/wellness. Additionally, owing to its shifty roots and ownership by Lou Sr., the Crater doesn’t feature state-of-the-art amenities. For instance, its defective plumbing and the steroids hidden in Lou’s office emphasize the makeshift nature of the establishment.
Bodybuilding, in general, was one of the primary inspirations of Glass, who told The Hollywood Reporter, “I have always been interested in the relationship that people have with their bodies, and the opportunity to say something external about what’s going on inside. With bodybuilding, it’s pushing things to an obsessive extreme. But I didn’t really know anything about bodybuilding going in [to scripting]. I’d seen a photo of a ‘strong woman’ from the ’40s or ’50s billed as a sideshow. As a professional sport, female bodybuilding didn’t come about until the ’60s or ’70s, so seeing a woman that muscular was always a freak show attraction.“ Therefore, Crater Gym serves as a setting that enables a deeper exploration of these concepts. Since a gym is one of the few places where a bodybuilder and a steroid user’s lives can intersect, its inclusion is justified.
‘Love Lies Bleeding‘ was filmed in the Albuquerque metropolitan area in New Mexico, where the desert town in the narrative is located. The scenes featuring Crater Gym were seemingly shot in a warehouse space in Rio Rancho. The gym serves as the personal haven of Lou and Jackie, two souls whose chaotic lives lead them into a relationship that nearly destroys them as they try to escape their demons. Despite its significance within the narrative, Crater Gym remains a fictional gym from the 1980s that does not actually exist in New Mexico.
Read More: Is Katy O’Brian a Bodybuilder in Real Life? Did She Gain Weight For Love Lies Bleeding?
