Movie Review: ‘Die My Love’

Jennifer Lawrence prowls around on all fours while ‘Die My Love’ ends up going in circles, in Lynne Ramsay’s latest mix of misery, mystery, and horror.

(L to R) Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson in 'Die My Love'. Photo Seamus McGarvey/Mubi.

Opening in theaters November 7 is ‘Die My Love,’ directed by Lynne Ramsay and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, Sissy Spacek, LaKeith Stanfield, Gabrielle Rose, and Nick Nolte.

Initial Thoughts

Jennifer Lawrence in 'Die My Love'. Photo Kimberley French/Mubi.

Lynne Ramsay has written and directed only five feature films in 26 years, and ‘Die My Love’ comes eight years after her previous effort, 2017’s ‘You Were Never Really Here.’ Based on Ariana Harwicz’s 2012 novel of the same name, ‘Die My Love’ treads similar psychological ground as some of Ramsay’s earlier films, with this one portraying both postpartum depression and the dissolution of an unhappy marriage.

But despite an incendiary performance from Jennifer Lawrence, and strong support from Robert Pattinson and Sissy Spacek, ‘Die My Love’ never really takes off. It’s filmed incredibly well – by now a Ramsay trademark – and has a string of powerful moments, yet at some point it settles into a kind of cyclical structure that just ends up repeating itself, making for an initially absorbing but frustrating viewing experience.

Story and Direction

Director Lynne Ramsay on the set of 'Die My Love'. Photo Kimberley French/Mubi.

The film opens inside the decaying, shabby farmhouse that Grace (Lawrence) and Jackson (Pattinson) are moving into, which we learn belonged to Jackson’s uncle before he offed himself upstairs. But the only ghosts in the house are the ones in Grace’s head. They’ve moved to the middle of nowhere in Montana to get out of city life and let Grace concentrate on writing a novel, while one-time musician Jackson settles into a job as a truck driver that takes him away for days at a time.

At first they romp around the house like playful, overgrown children, sexing and drinking with relish, but once Grace gets pregnant and gives birth, all that comes to an end – even though Grace is still horny, Jackson doesn’t want anything to do with that and his trips get even longer. That leaves Grace alone with the baby and her own increasingly fractured and tormented thoughts – which soon turn into increasingly destructive actions that seem to tip into full-blown psychosis.

Director Lynne Ramsay on the set of 'Die My Love'. Photo Kimberley French/Mubi.

Is it the loneliness or the postpartum depression that does Grace in? It’s left ambiguous, but we suspect the former more than the latter. Either way, whether she literally tears the bathroom apart or has a quick (possibly imaginary) fling with the biker down the road (a barely there LaKeith Stanfield), Grace is on a downward spiral – until she isn’t. She gets better for a bit, and then does it all again, rinse and repeat.

And that’s ultimately the problem with ‘Die My Love’: it ends up chasing its own tail, becoming more stylized and self-indulgent as it goes along and less interesting to watch. Jackson and his mom, Pam (Sissy Spacek) try to help but seem hapless in the face of Grace’s force-of-nature rush to set her whole life on fire (dog lovers beware: things don’t end well for the family pet). There are moments of clarity and beauty and profundity, but they’re fleeting in an otherwise exhausting catalog of erratic behavior that portrays mental illness as a kind of Grand Guignol.

Cast and Performances

(L to R) Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson in 'Die My Love'. Photo: Kimberley French/Mubi.

Jennifer Lawrence is at her best when she just lets raw emotion and impulse pour out of her, which makes ‘Die My Love’ something of a tour de force. Unafraid to bare her flesh and equally fearless about getting it dirty and bloodied, Lawrence plunges headlong into the role of Grace with fervor, keeping your eyes glued on her even when the rest of the movie falters. She approaches the character with both dark humor and grim abandon, daring the viewer to stay with her on the ride – and succeeding through her strength as an actor alone.

Robert Pattinson does his best here, but Jackson is simply not as present, either physically or psychically, and the character is merely reactive to whatever Grace throws at him. Sissy Spacek injects some empathy into the proceedings, but in a similar fashion, the role of Pam is not developed enough. It’s also a shame we don’t see more of Nick Nolte as Jackson’s dementia-addled father, whose few moments onscreen are moving.

Final Thoughts

Jennifer Lawrence in 'Die My Love'. Photo Kimberley French/Mubi.

‘Die My Love’ is the second movie this season about a young mother cracking under the strain, with ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’ also making the experience a harrowing one. The films both use dark humor and surreal imagery, but differ in important ways: Grace, in her own fashion, embraces motherhood, while Rose Byrne’s Linda in ‘If I Had Legs’ admits at a pivotal moment that she didn’t want to be a mother in the first place.

It's up to the individual viewer how relatable each performance is, but the work by both actors is Oscar-worthy even if neither film develops a clear narrative or theme. In the meantime, ‘Die My Love’ is Lynne Ramsay’s most internalized film since her early efforts ‘Ratcatcher’ and ‘Morvern Callar,’ and perhaps her most difficult to embrace – and even a harder one to love.

‘Die My Love’ receives a score of 65 out of 100.

(L to R) Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson in 'Die My Love'. Photo: Kimberley French/Mubi.

What is the plot of ‘Die My Love’?

Grace and Jackson move from New York City to Jackson’s rural childhood home in Montana in search of a quieter life. As they adjust to their new surroundings and become parents, Grace begins to struggle with feelings of isolation and psychological distress. Her deteriorating mental health gradually drives their marriage into unsettling and unpredictable territory.