Film Review: BLEEDING LOVE (2023): Emma Westenberg’s Film is a Hopeful but Challenging Tale of Addiction

Bleeding Love Review

Bleeding Love (2023) Film Review, a movie directed by Emma Westenberg, written by Ruby Caster, Vera Bulder and Clara McGregor and starring Ewan McGregor, Clara McGregor, Devyn McDowell, Vera Bulder, Travis Hammer, Kim Zimmer, Jake Weary, Kristin K. Berg, Sasha Alexander, Jacob Browne, Helen Trencher, Fischer Knapp, Mat Mahboub, Farooq A. Qureshi and Clint Obenchain.

Bleeding Love is an addiction film centered on a father and a daughter who both have substance abuse difficulties. Director Emma Westenberg has commanded two fine, layered lead performances from the film’s stars, Ewan McGregor and Clara McGregor. However, the movie’s early scenes are a bit sluggish to sit through until the film finally gets into the depths of the topics it (eventually) fearlessly explores. Ewan McGregor has always been a solid actor and shows considerable range in the performance he gives in Bleeding Love. Clara McGregor, Ewan’s real-life daughter, proves to be a very intriguing performer, adding much solemn intensity to her role here.

This film revolves around a father (Ewan McGregor) who is dealing with a young daughter (Clara McGregor) who has recently overdosed. While driving together on the road, the dad pulls over his truck and the girl bends down to go to the bathroom. Soon, she flees and starts running. The father runs after her and stops her in her tracks. Where would she have gone if she did manage to get away from her dad? She really never thought that through much.

There is a lot of tension between the father and daughter on the road. You could almost cut that tension with a knife. It turns out dad has a drinking problem and ends up going to an AA meeting. Also, the daughter soon gets into some hot water with a guy who offers her alcoholic drinks and the dad ends up saving her from potential danger.

There is also a lot of on-screen intensity displayed by the stars and the performances by both McGregors in the early stages are well-drawn and improve significantly as the movie progresses. It’s not until the movie takes a leap towards the true and honest emotions expressed by Clara McGregor’s character that the movie becomes raw and vivid. But, when these scenes hit, they hit hard and Clara McGregor hits it out of the park with her forceful turn.

There’s a scene that flashes back to when the dad dropped the daughter as a school-age little girl off at her school. She goes inside the school and then comes out to see her dad but her dad has taken off. The film later re-shows this scenario at the end when the grown daughter goes somewhere else and this late scene is very moving and emotional. It’s a perfect way to conclude the film.

The early sequences drag a bit as the characters are initially established. It takes some time to warm up to them. Eventually, the movie comes around full force to provide scenes of intense drama so it’s ultimately worth the investment to stay with these characters throughout the duration of the picture.

Some of the scenes where Clara McGregor’s character is put in some scary situations feel a little too tame in some respects. Luckily, the character escapes a couple of dangerous scenarios throughout the film. However, in real life, she may not have been so lucky. The movie shows her hitchhiking, for example. Still, this movie definitely shows the true side of addiction in a powerful way and we feel for Clara McGregor’s character as she tries to find the right path in her current life.

Whether or not Clara McGregor’s character makes it to rehab by the film’s conclusion, the bond between she and Ewan McGregor’s father character is displayed with terrific precision. One genuinely feels for both characters. There is a lot of admiration for their characters that comes from their interaction on screen. The family dynamics are, at times, heavy-handed but by the time the last scenes are unveiled, one will be won over by the central characterizations. Director Westenberg certainly has visual flair and the movie’s stylized scenes are edited in an interesting fashion that helps maintain the audience’s attention throughout.

Bleeding Love has hopeful and probing scenes throughout. One inspiring scene has the father and daughter signing the song which inspired the film’s title in the truck together. It also has scenes of despair as well and is very realistic at many intervals throughout. Bleeding Love ultimately teaches us about the powerful, unbreakable bond between a parent and a child. At the end, it’s a moving story, well told.

Rating: 7/10

Leave your thoughts on this Bleeding Love review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Google News, Feedly, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Telegram, Mastodon, Flipboard, and Threads.