DIE MY LOVE directed by Lynne Ramsay (UK/USA,2025)
By all accounts, the Scottish director Lynne Ramsay had to be persuaded that an adaptation of the debut novel by Argentinian author Ariana Harvicz was a project worth investing in. I think it shows. She brings her unique cinematic vision to the work but her heart doesn’t seem to be fully in it.
Martin Scorsese recommended the book to Jennifer Lawrence who chose Ramsay to direct her full-blooded rendition of a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Lawrence is Grace by name but not by nature. She claws at walls, head butts mirrors, throws herself through a window and jerks herself off when her long suffering husband, Jackson (Robert Pattinson), doesn’t fuck her to order.
The precise cause of her mental illness is unclear. Some have speculated that she is suffering from a from of post-natal depression but this doesn’t seem right because her mood swings and manic energy are visible before her son is born. Bipolar disorder is another possible explanation which seems a little more credible. Her nymphomania also suggests attachment issues.
However you diagnose what’s going on with her, the rage and violence is there for us all to see, If there was an Oscar for self-abuse and unhinged craziness then Lawrence would win hands down. The redoubtable Sissy Spacek as her mom-in-law is a welcome stabilizing influence but no-one can pacify Grace.
Because we never get to know much about Grace’s back story and know very little of her husband’s background it is harder to fully engage with, let alone decipher, all the excesses.
Ramsay directs with verve and energy. The mood changes are bold. The soundtrack is loud. The cinematography is exceptional. But without a soul, the movie doesn’t generate any empathy or sympathy. In consequence, you watch in a state of morbid fascination much like you might witness an unfolding natural disaster on TV happening in a place you’ve never previously heard of.
Who needs critics anyway? All of us have opinions so we don’t need to be told what to like and why.
The opening shot of this documentary is of a magician in a silent movie manipulating film to create a disappearing act. This illusionist sets the scene for a movie in which not all is as it seems.
