Any review of Bleeding Love, given that she’s starring alongside her father Ewan, is more than likely going to focus on the performance of Clara McGregor. This is slightly unfair as pairing her with a genuine Hollywood superstar who has had years of experience gives her more than a slightly unfair advantage. Clara was never going to win in this scenario, unless her acting was something special, which sadly it isn’t.
Bleeding Love is a road movie where, after his daughter nearly has a fatal overdose, father and daughter (Ewan and Clara McGregor) make a journey across parts of America. Their eventual destination being Santa Fe, New Mexico where the father hopes to convince his daughter to go into rehab.
Along the way the pair bump into the usual weird and whacky characters that usual turn up along the roadside in the USA.
Director Emma Westenberg, much like Clara McGregor, past work mostly involves forgettable TV serieses tries her best with what limited story she’s got to work with. Some rather poorly shot flashback scenes, particularly one in a baseball park which only manages to highlight how limited their budget must have been.
From what we see on screen there’s no doubt that father and daughter must have both enjoyed working together. Sadly their joy and enthusiasm only masks a film that’s slow, not greatly acted and not nearly as much fun to watch in a cinema as it obviously must have been to make.
