Die My Love

Die, My Love? More like Day, For Night.

I'll give it this. The film taps into something authentic when it comes to looking at the impulsiveness that comes with depression. When it's jarring by showing something destructive happening, you feel it, and it feels real. Also, Jennifer Lawrence is very good, even though she doesn't really have an actual film to work with.

This thing is abysmally written and paced. A good performance and a certain honesty about mental illness - and how it feels - can only take this so far. There are parts of this film where it was almost like someone was trying to kneecap those somewhat redeeming qualities. You can have a film that's unpredictable and that shows a sense of psychological deterioration, but you still need pacing or a sense of momentum/escalation.

Die My Love has none of that, and whatever it's trying to be beyond a depiction of depression (and it is trying to be other things; it has to, with a runtime of about two hours), it fails. There's a randomness that doesn't feel clever or particularly purposeful; more just lazy. But I also thought Lynne Ramsay's previous film, You Were Never Really Here, was smug and kind of frustrating, so take my take with a decent amount of salt (We Need to Talk About Kevin was good, though).

This is a very good move. It's also an awful movie. Jennifer Lawrence acts the heck out of it - seriously good work. It's a huge rule that could have been cartoonish but she gives it nuance and depth. Robert Pattinson isn't quite as good but he holds his own.

Postpartum depression is not a topic I've seen done before, surely because it makes us confront uncomfortable things about mothers, who we'd rather idealize. So I give the producers a lot of credit for tackling the subject.

But it's about an unlikable woman going through miserable times, causing havoc in her wake. Of course people aren't going to like that.

My only possible criticism is that the portrayal of mental illness didn't seem fully authentic to me. But I say "possible" because I'm not a mental health professional and obviously I have not had postpartum depression.

But, the protagonists problems weren't only postpartum depression but that pushes her over the edge. I'll guess that's how it usually works.

"Die My Love" follows young couple Grace and Jackson (Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson), who relocate to Jackson's rural hometown in Montana for a new start. The couple soon welcome the birth of a son, but their relationship splinters as Grace descends into severe mental illness, while an often emotionally-absent Jackson falters in supporting her.

This emotionally exhausting film by Lynne Ramsay (no stranger to darkness) is a psychological rollercoaster that, despite lacking in some exposition, is no less an effective, turbulent, and abstract journey into one individual's mental decline. Many have characterized this film as one about postpartum depression, but I believe this is both an oversimplification and a mischaracterization. As someone whose lifelong best friend has suffered from inconsistently-medicated bipolar disorder for decades, I found that this film succinctly illustrated exactly what this disorder looks like to a level that is uncanny. Grace's temperament and actions throughout reminded me so much of my friend that I found the film at times extremely difficult to watch.

In terms of story, "Die My Love" is fairly sparse. The film mostly consists of a push-and-pull, a chaotic dance between Grace and Jackson that is both exasperating and occasionally touching. There remains a clear sense that, despite their respective flaws and problems, the two deeply care for each other; however, there is a vortex in the room consuming Grace that goes unchecked for far too long. Grace's reality is entirely obfuscated by her illness, while a distracted Jackson is ill-equipped to be a source of legitimate support. His mother, Pam (Sissy Spacek), who is experiencing her own grief, seems to intuitively recognize the emotional forces that are consuming Grace, but her efforts also remain limited due to a number of interpersonal family dynamics.

The storytelling here employs nonlinear and abstract tactics that are, for the most part, effective. I do think it suffers from a lack of exposition, as the audience gets no real sense of who these people were before Grace's decline. Instead, we are dropped into their lives at the precipice of all this turmoil. A few details about Grace's past eventually emerge near the film's conclusion, but it feels like a case of "too little, too late." Perhaps this was done intentionally so as to mimic the unpredictable, hard-and-fast progression of some mental illnesses, but I still felt as though there was an undergirding to the two leads characters that was sorely missed. Despite this, both Lawrence and Pattinson's performances are outstanding, and Spacek serves as a warm (albeit often helpless) maternal figure between the two.

There is a repetitive nature to the events that unfold as the film hurls toward its conclusion which some may find a slog to get through (and I do think it could have benefitted from some slight editing), but I mainly found it a slog because it was a painful and dispiriting viewing experience. Given my experiences with Ramsay's other films, I expected this, but it hit me harder because it brought up many personal memories. Despite what flaws it may have, as an emotional portrait, it is a real gut-punch of a film. 7/10.

Greetings again from the darkness. For the sake of her friends, family, and self, I do hope Lynne Ramsay's movies do not reflect her real-life persona. Don't get me wrong ... she's an extraordinary filmmaker, but to put it mildly, her films are not what we would label 'uplifting'. Proof of these two descriptions can be found in WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (2011) and YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE (2017), and now again in her latest. The 2017 English translated novel by Ariana Harwicz has been adapted by Ms. Ramsay, Enda Walsh (HUNGER, 2008) and Alice Birch (THE WONDER, 2022). It's an absorbing film featuring what is likely the year's best and most haunting performance.

When we first meet Grace (Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence) and Jackson (Robert Pattinson), they are a wild and free couple who dance to the Pinky & Perky (not Alvin and the Chipmunks) version of "Let's Twist Again." Jackson has inherited a rundown house in rural Montana from his recently deceased uncle, and they fix up the place enough to move in. Sex and laughter fill their days right up until the baby is born. Postpartum depression has been conveyed in other movies, yet I don't believe it's ever been as visceral as what we witness here. Grace clearly loves her baby, while everything else about her own existence seems to anger and disappoint her ... the house, the dog, and especially Jackson.

Grace sinks to a level we don't often witness. It's so painful and uncomfortable to watch, and Jennifer Lawrence is fearless in her portrayal of Grace's downward spiral. Robert Pattinson plays Jackson as a normal guy who loves his wife, while having no clue how to handle the situation. Therein lies the power of this story. We could know Grace and Jackson, and we could be the folks at the party trying so hard to say the right things ... those things that turn out to be the worst things to say. We could also be that spouse willing to give the other enough space to find themselves.

Thanks to superb cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, the film has a gritty 1970's look and feel to it, and excellent (though limited) supporting work is provided by (Oscar winner) Sissy Spacek, rarely seen Nick Nolte, and the always interesting LaKeith Stanfield. The soundtrack is unusual and fascinating, including songs by such diverse artists as Elvis, Toni Basil, Cocteau Twins, Peggy Lipton, Nick Lowe, and Cream. As a bonus, the film features the best ever use of John Prine and Iris Dement singing "In Spite of Ourselves", a perfect fit. Mental health issues and depression are serious topics, and have rarely (if ever) been more accurately portrayed than what we see in this latest from filmmaker Lynne Ramsay. Despite the brilliant filmmaking and memorable performance, it's not an easy movie to recommend. It's only for those who can appreciate the magic within the dark clouds.

Opening in theaters on November 7, 2025.

I just couldn't enjoy this film. I found the flick to be pretentious and the story jumps the gun far too often for the plot to hold any weight from the message being conveyed.

Yes, the film has some gorgeous cinematography and the acting is great, but that is about where the good stops for this one. The story goes absolutely nowhere. In about the last quarter of the film, I had felt like I finally got a grip on what Jennifer Lawrence's character was going through and why she kept doing these crazy things to herself, and I had thought, what a perfect way to end this film. Then it continued for another 25 minutes and lost me again with the meaning behind the film. It was as frustrating as seeing Lawrence's pregnant belly shrink and unshrink throughout the film, at intervals that make no sense.

The best part of the film is easily Jennifer Lawrence's acting. She was what made the film, at least somewhat, entertaining. Not a whole lot of a transformation for herself, she is doing a lot of what she did in 'Mother!' here as well, but it works in the film's favor. The actor who should not have been in this is Robert Pattinson. Very miscast role. It's not that he's a bad actor, it's that his acting is dry and emotionless. This role required someone with a more tender screen presence. Had they stuck with the idea I had thought they were going with, he would've been just fine, but, again, then the movie went on for another 25 minutes, making you feel bad for his character, and obliterated that idea out of my head.

Overall, I couldn't recommend it. The meaning and emotion that could have been are all lost in this messy soup of a film. The acting is great and the cinematography is a stand out, but the lack of a cohesive plotline, an ending that dragged on and on, and the very miscast husband pushed this film all the way to the ground by the end of it. A shame, a daring and provocative performance just wasted because of somebody's idea of 'avent garde elevated cinema'.

2 dead loves out of 5.