'Die My Love' Explores Mad Love and Mental Illness
Starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, director Lynne Ramsay’s latest film is somewhat misleadingly marketed as a drama about postpartum depression. However, it is actually a morbid comedy that shows how everyday life can push anyone to the edge, 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 is a humorous understatement considering the intense scenes of blood, fire, and psychosis throughout the film. Ramsay delivers another darkly funny and unsettling exploration of mad love and mental illness. Known for depicting psychological breakdowns from within, she immerses viewers in the haunted minds of characters such as Samantha Morton’s grief-numbed girlfriend in her 2002 film Morvern Callar and Joaquin Phoenix’s PTSD-afflicted vigilante in the 2018 film You Were Never Really Here.
Loosely adapted from Ariana Harwicz’s 2012 novel, Die My Love follows Grace and Jackson, a hard-partying couple from New York City, played by Lawrence and Pattinson. They move into a dilapidated country house once owned by Jackson’s uncle.
The film blends unsettling elements with dark humor, highlighting how the struggles of daily existence can unravel the mind.
Author’s Summary
Die My Love combines dark humor and psychological depth to portray the thin line between love and madness, revealing the challenges that strain everyday minds.