by Scott Batchelor, Contributing Writer
Bleeding Love does not have anything flashy like amazing effects or twists and turns to attract general audiences, but what makes it important is the story. Ewan McGregor stars with real life daughter, Clara McGregor, as Father and Daughter respectively… those are actually their character names, Father and Daughter. I suppose this creates a universal feeling, as the film really emphasizes that this is not a unique situation. It is a story about saving someone from themselves. Sometimes it is easy to throw your hands up and let them make the wrong choices. But when you know what is going to happen to them, and that person is someone you love more than life itself, you would go to the extreme. Many people have gone through this exact same struggle. But because the focus is so much more on the story than the characters in Bleeding Love, we lose just a bit of the viewing experience we expect to have with such strong subject matter.
We open during the early stages of the road trip, but with little information. Daughter tries to run away, but is quickly run down by Father. She tries to buy alcohol, but can’t without ID, so she steals the airplane sized bottles. Shortly after getting back on the road, we learn they are going to Santa Fe, but we are still not given any reasons. During the trip, we glimpse some flashbacks that set the stage. Not too long before the movie starts, Daughter OD’d. Her estranged father has come to drive her to his friend’s house so she can get clean. It doesn’t take long for this film to dip into road trip movie clichés. The truck breaks down, forcing them to pull over. Father shares anecdotes about her life when she was a child, and was bribed with candy. They make slight mention of her inheriting some sort of gene from Father, setting the stage for some repressed hardships growing up.
The clichés continue with an oddball tow truck driver, Elsie (Kim Zimmer). There is a bit of a comedic interaction with Elsie; the line readings are fine, but none of the jokes really work. Elsie convinces them to go to her brother-in-law’s, who can fix the truck faster and cheaper.
She then takes them to a child’s birthday party, where we take just a bit of a dig at “gun culture,” but don’t really say anything else other than, “Guns are a goofy birthday present for a kid.” Daughter takes the time to find a guy named Kip (Jake Weary) who she can get drunk with outside the watchful eye of Father. Kip quickly shows how little game he has, as he continues to give Daughter shots of whisky. There are a few laughs here, as Kip picks up a guitar and tries to improvise a romantic song. Fathers busts her drinking and reveals that this is in fact a rescue mission as his underage daughter had OD’d 12 hours prior. A small argument ensues before she is easily convinced to get back in the truck.
The movie starts with just some vague backstory but 30 minutes in, all semblance of letting the audience fill in the pieces is gone, as the film spells it out: He used to have a drinking problem (and maybe more). Father stops in at an A.A. meeting and does a really good job of breaking down addiction. It is more real the way it is explained here than a giant, bombastic spiral to the bottom. There’s not a huge story about taking out savings and ruining the family, which I know does happen. But there are smaller cases of addiction that don’t end lives or ruin anyone; it just fractures relationships. It was nice to see that not everything has to be super dramatized.
The performances are alright, but nothing really blows me away. I was expecting a bit more of a connection, but I just wasn’t feeling it. However, there is a scene in the end that allows Clara to show off her skills as an actor. She vocally masks how upset she is, while her face betrays her, and we get to see what she is really feeling on the inside. This type of performance comes too late, though, and feels a bit forced. It very much feels like it was written to check a box, rather than progress a story.
The inevitable conclusion feels like something I would have seen on the CW or churned out on a CSI/NCIS type. It’s good messaging, but the delivery doesn’t quite land. There is just a bit of an investment issue here. I care about the characters, but there is ultimately nothing that makes me really root for them on a personal level.
Bleeding Love is a good enough story about addiction and how it fractures relationships. But I fear the focus on the story comes at the expense of character development. There is a complex relationship between Father and Daughter that is able to drift between comedic and heartfelt. The movie tells a lesser talked about story of addiction, and how it very much carries on through the generations. While the conclusion does feel earned, it’s just missing an important detail; I am not that invested in the characters. Still, though, the powerful message about admitting you need help makes it just passable.
Rating: It Was Just Okay
Bleeding Love is currently available on VOD
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