Refreshingly unpredictable and the kind of film that would usually have been about blokes, not daughters and body building lovers.

A Western, redemption, narco, gangster story that’s probably been told many a time but never in this way. Like seeing The Long Kiss Goodnight for the first time and understanding the thrill of identifying with my first female action hero, director Rose Glass turns the tables on our expectations with Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian as the heroes and villains.

In a deadbeat New Mexico nowhere town, Lou (Stewart) listlessly staffs a rundown gym, unclogging toilets and fending off the advances of Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov). Her ennui falls away when a stranger comes to town. Jackie (O’Brian) is a wildcard, hitchhiking through to get to a bodybuilding championship in Vegas that will turn her life around. She’s an amiable grifter and soon an authentic love interest, perhaps enough to give Lou something to hope for.

There is baggage though, in the form of Lou’s beaten sister Beth (Jena Malone), odious brother-in-law JJ (Dave Franko) and evil kingpin father Lou Senior (Ed Harris). There are twists and turns, unexpected and expected violence and even some magic realism and body horror that strangely works.

Overall it’s the 80s small town vibe and timeless graphic novel mood that stays with you. And Stewart’s effortlessly cool antihero. I can imagine doing anything for Lou.