'Die My Love' Explores Mad Love and Mental Illness
Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, director Lynne Ramsay’s latest film has been somewhat misleadingly promoted as a drama about postpartum depression. In reality, it is a dark comedy illustrating how everyday life can drive anyone to the brink of insanity, according to film critic Sean Burns.
“We all go a little loopy the first year,” a kindly Sissy Spacek tells Jennifer Lawrence’s struggling young mother in Die My Love.
This understatement contrasts sharply with the intense scenes of blood, fire, and unraveling psychosis in Ramsay’s morbidly humorous and nerve-wracking film. Known for her fearless examination of mental states, the Glaswegian director captures psychological breakdowns from within the protagonists’ haunted minds.
Ramsay’s previous works include the 2002 masterpiece Morvern Callar, featuring Samantha Morton as a grief-stricken girlfriend, and the 2018 film You Were Never Really Here with Joaquin Phoenix portraying a PTSD-afflicted vigilante.
Based loosely on Ariana Harwicz’s 2012 novel, Die My Love follows Grace and Jackson, a hard-partying couple from New York City who move into a dilapidated country house that once belonged to Jackson’s uncle. The film blends dark humor and startling realism to explore the madness embedded in daily existence.
Summary
Lynne Ramsay’s Die My Love uses dark comedy and intense psychological insight to reveal how love and daily struggles can drive people toward madness.