Kristen Stewart explains how her role in the sci-fi romance Love Me challenged her to explore new territory as an actor. The Love Lies Bleeding star revealed back in 2021 that she was soon set to appear in a quirky post-apocalyptic movie about a love story between a satellite and a buoy. Having premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, Stewart’s Love Me is set to release in theaters on January 31, 2025.

Speaking exclusively to ScreenRant about her romantic turn as the lonely bouy Me, and the attention-seeking influencer Deja in Love Me, Stewart discussed the unique challenge of creating characters who are very different from anything she’s played before:

It was fun. It was defining itself every day. The script is such a diving board, and it’s so astute in terms of how it offers itself to you. I hope that the movie does that as well, even though we’ve kind of peopled it.

Stewart then went deeper into what she found appealing in Me/Deja, and the questions the characters raised for her about idenтιтy:

But it just felt like anyone could have played that part, and so it felt like such an invitation to [say], “Well, okay, maybe it can be you.” You’re like, “Well, what does that mean? Who am I?” The whole movie is about trying to figure that out; reckoning with our sameness, our individuality, and finding ways to express that understanding. It changes all the time.

Stewart elaborated further on why she saw her Love Me role as a unique and interesting opportunity:

Really, in terms of character, I thought it was a nice, open-ended opportunity to allow that to become anything – which is kind of everything. You’re kind of playing everyone. You’re playing somebody who just wants to be seen.

What Stewart’s Remarks Mean For Love Me

Prepare To See A Different Side Of Stewart

Stewart has been adventurous in her recent acting choices, taking on challenging roles in a diverse array of movies, like the unconventional biopic Spencer, the futuristic Cronenberg movie Crimes of the Future and the unconventional love story/thriller Love Lies Bleeding. As previewed in the recently-released Love Me trailer, Stewart this time plays someone who, in her words, “just wants to be seen,” implying perhaps that Deja is not a very complex character, at least not compared to some others Stewart has played over the past few years.

But Deja lacking in complexity doesn’t necessarily mean the character isn’t interesting, and indeed Stewart found much to hook into when taking on the role. Idenтιтy is a major theme in Love Me, and Stewart was able to explore some very universal human dilemmas by playing a character who is in the process of forging a self. According to her, the movie is about “reckoning with our sameness, our individuality,” and she was attracted to the idea of playing an empty vessel who could have been played by “anyone.”

Our Take On Stewart Exploring New Acting Territory In Love Me

Critics Like Her Performance, But Not The Movie

Stewart may indeed have been pulled in by Love Me and its unusual approach to character, but critics have not been kind in their own ᴀssessment of the movie’s innovations. ScreenRant had this to say after the film debuted at Sundance in 2024:

With such a talented cast and a fascinating concept, I really wanted to like Love Me, but for all its intrigue, Sam and Anthony Zuchero’s sci-fi romance is much too flimsy and shallow. Artificial intelligence is at the center of the story, but the film wants us to desperately buy into the idea that two enтιтies — a water buoy designed in 2600 before humanity’s extinction and a satellite charged with holding vestiges of what human life was like — could fall in love and make a life for themselves.

Stewart had been on a strong critical run, as reflected in the Rotten Tomatoes ratings for her past few films, but Love Me brought that to a screeching halt:

Audiences will soon get to judge for themselves whether Stewart made a good choice in signing on to play a lovelorn bouy and her influencer alter ego in Love Me. Perhaps the movie’s charms will work on moviegoers better than they did on reviewers. Or, maybe audiences will be as underwhelmed by the movie as critics were. Stewart’s performance in the film was praised by critics even if they found the movie unappealing overall, so her fans may indeed find something to enjoy, as the Twilight star explores unfamiliar acting territory.