Die, My Love review – an emotionally charged portrait of motherhood
In Lynne Ramsay’s film Die, My Love, life begins to unravel for a couple soon after the birth of their first child. The story is given a dreamlike, almost surreal tone, capturing the turbulence of early motherhood with raw emotional force.
Intense performances and vivid imagery
Jennifer Lawrence delivers a striking and deeply physical portrayal of Grace, a socially withdrawn new mother living in rural Montana. Her rugged denim overalls contrast with her fragile mental state, as she teeters on the edge of collapse. Robert Pattinson co-stars, and together they create a tense dynamic that anchors the film’s emotional core.
Moments of disturbing beauty
Grace’s increasingly erratic behavior blurs the line between reality and breakdown. She crawls through her overgrown garden on all fours like a wild animal, gripping a kitchen knife, or goes limp in her kitchen as if her strings were suddenly cut. In another unsettling scene, she sits inside her vintage refrigerator, spitting beer across the floor — an image both absurd and profoundly disquieting.
“She parks her butt inside her old-fashioned fridge, casually spitting out an arc of beer onto the floor (that we never saw her take a swig makes it all the more disquieting).”
Reception and atmosphere
The film’s gauzy, dream-infused visual style amplifies the emotional turmoil simmering beneath Grace’s every move. Lawrence’s performance, widely discussed after her energetic appearance on The Graham Norton Show and positive film festival reviews, forms the heart of Ramsay’s haunting exploration of isolation and identity.
Author’s summary: Lynne Ramsay’s Die, My Love captures the volatility of new motherhood through Jennifer Lawrence’s visceral performance, blending surreal imagery and deep emotional unease into a hypnotic experience.