This is getting crushed on different review platforms (no IMDb user comments give it above 3 so far, Letterboxd has a degree of promise towards it with a range of 2's and 3's, while even the reviews on Shudder are quite critical with the occasional positive line or two), and I guess when you pace a film for 80 minutes on what could be happening or might be happening possibly misconstrued by a character (Lee Marshall) who just seems to be questionable in presentation, not really providing anything within the story really gory or immediately gratifying, the inevitable boos from the crowd will probably be deafening. I'm sort of okay with "Bleed with Me" (2020) a film about the receptionist, Rowan (Marshall), who works in a clinic where she meets co-worker and lone friend, Emily (Lauren Beatty). Emily is recovering from an injury, walking with a noticeable limp, inviting Rowan to a cabin-in-the-woods getaway with her boyfriend, Brendan (Aris Tyros) during winter. During this getaway, Rowan begins to suspect Emily is "feeding" from her, noticing more and more cuts on her arm, while also enduring bouts of wicked sleep weakness that causes visually impaired daze and confusion. It is possible Emily is drugging her drink (teas and wine), since Rowan often seems to suffer her "downtime" after taking some swigs. But when it comes to the cuts, the film doesn't really say for sure if the cuts on Rowan's arm are made by Emily or just demons of the mind playing tricks on her. There are nightmares/visions of Emily showering as the water from the head emerge as blood and Emily taking to her bloody arm for long, juicy drinks. Also one scene shows a blade slicing into Rowans arm and POV blurred vision of Em in front of her on the bed, as if this is taking place during a drugged stupor. None of this actually starts until Rowan cuts her finger and Em mouths the bleed for a couple of drags...Rowan reacts in horror. So all of this very well could just be Rowan's psychological reaction to Emily's first drink from her finger, with all the subsequent followup to that suspect from the central character's perspective...it could all just be fiction growing out of a reaction to a specific act she found gross. I noticed a negative review bringing up how tired they are of the "unreliable narrator" storytelling device, seemingly frustrated that it is a crutch for a writer and director to just confuse the hell out of you because they can through it. Since it seems Rowan is "off", the writer and director can play games with the viewer, not constrained to a form of straight-forward plot that gets you from start to finish. If this film had just said to you that Emily isn't guilty of anything and Rowan is seriously mentally damaged, incapable of determining what is real or unreal in a way that allows you to know all the answers right from the get-go until the very end, there is no frustration because everything is as it seems. But this film muddies the waters and won't just let us have that. There is a very emphasized shot of Emily pouring wine constantly in a glass for Rowan after every swig, it would seem, and she does insist, even if quietly and calmly, Rowan take the tea because "it will make you feel better". The cuts on Rowan's arm...we never see Rowan actually do that to herself, with Brendan asking her if she is. And the way Beatty plays Emily is almost always stoic and rarely revealing anything behind a pretty face that never gives away too much. That might be why I read a lot of "the performances are just bad" and "too bad the performances aren't worth the aesthetic the director provides the cast". I never really thought of the performances as bad as much as "controlled" and understated. There isn't that big dramatic escalated fight. A little blade goes into a neck and a person collapses after the blood squirts on another, but the victim doesn't really scream out nor is there any histrionics. Marshall, even when it would appear she's under intense strain or about to fall apart, doesn't go for big theatrics. There appears to be crumbling, sure, but actual visceral reaction seems buried under a restraint kept in check until a box (we are led to believe) is found with a little vial of blood, a hypodermic, and a little blade to cut...again even if those supplies are used for something, that doesn't mean they were ever intended (or used) for Rowan.
Now in regards to unreliable, Rowan brings up being stalked, later telling Emily (who already knows) it was her who was the stalker and Emily the one she followed. Emily had what Rowan desired: love, companionship, and a connection between two people. And yet Emily seems to be very invested in their friendship, making sure Rowan will never leave her. I, personally, believe Emily feels this way because she lost her sister and sees Rowan as a surrogate. But Rowan, I think, yearns for what Emily has, even, perhaps, holding a desire for her. I did sense -- and I could be wrong -- some sexual tension, perhaps lesbian undertones there. Maybe not with Emily, who does fear Brendan is slipping away, but Rowan has these linger looks at Emily that appear forlorn and longing. But once Emily takes a couple drinks from the cut finger, Rowan seems to never be the same.
The ending would seem to indicate Rowan was wrong with her concerns about Emily. Emily even tells Rowan she needs to rest, asks her about the cuts, and is often quite devoted to her "improvement". If Rowan sits out in the car fearing that Emily is out to get her, Emily and Brendan try to see to it she rests and recovers. You don't really ever see either Emily or Brendan technically threatening to her. A lot of the film questions Rowan's psyche. Could a lot of her "experiences" be manufactured by a disturbed mind? The ending doesn't altogether answer that -- it is possible Emily was drawing blood from her, but when she looks down at her arm, Rowan hides her increasing number of cuts -- but I think a certain conclusion is probably accurate. Rowan seeing a dead rabbit, bleeding from the damaged face, as Emily pokes it with a stick also repeats in Rowan's mind over and over...so the sight of blood could be a trigger that sends her off the deep end. 3/5
As far as sex goes, Rowan seeing Emily fucking Brendan (and her turning around to acknowledge she knows), Rowan finding a Polaroid of herself taken by either Emily or Rowan, a dream of Emily showering with blood eventually filling the space, Rowan taking a drink even as she suspects it to be drugged followed by Emily saying, "Good girl", and the affectionate face caressing (and hair caressing) all sort of gave off these sexually tense vibes that I found quite interesting. I thought the faces of the cast were interesting, too. And how the director works with the camera through Rowan's questionable perspective, with us sort of seeing things as she does, held me captivated. I liked this little film, even if I wasn't altogether 100% sure what was actual and what was imagined. I guess that was the point.
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