1 of 5 | Jennifer Lawrence stars in “Die My Love,” in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of Mubi
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 3 (UPI) — Die My Love, in theaters Friday, is an intense exploration of a woman succumbing to the pressures of marriage and motherhood. Anchored by a bravura performance by Jennifer Lawrence, Die My Love is a cathartic vehicle for uncomfortable subjects and behavior.
Lawrence and Robert Pattinson star as Grace and Jackson, a young couple who move into his late uncle’s house in the middle of rural woods. The pair are passionate when they move in.
But as Jackson goes to work every day, leaving Grace alone with their newborn, boredom overtakes her enthusiasm. Mutual resentments create conflict in the marriage.
Die My Love is unabashedly a downer. Director Lynn Ramsay, who adapted Ariana Harwicz’s book with Enda Walsh and Alice Birch, makes Grace’s spiral a cinematic event.
Grace and Jackson’s honeymoon phase at first is sexy. The couple make love on the floor, and Grace slinks around, crawling on the ground to entice him.
Even when Grace is bored at home with the baby, Lawrence makes her character’s body language captivating. She sits in the open refrigerator spitting beer, licks the window and dances to baby-friendly music.
Grace and Jackson’s strife is as volatile as their passion was. Grace takes surprisingly drastic actions that verge on self-harm. It remains open to interpretation whether her actions are a way for her to cope, to demand attention, or are simply a result of being overwhelmed.
Lawrence is as exposed physically as emotionally. From the initial passionate scenes to desperately trying on lingerie for Jackson, Lawrence uses every tool in her body to convey Grace’s despair.
Ramsay approaches nudity with the female gaze, where it’s not about titillation, but nonetheless captures the passion of young lovers. Nude shots are always at canted angles from Lawrence’s body.
You see Lawrence, but Ramsay is not ogling her. In fact, the only full frontal shot of Lawrence is from a considerable distance and comes at such a harrowing time that it is more metaphorical than literal.
The script also captures Lawrence’s natural sarcasm. Lawrence is playful in interviews, but as Grace her remarks speak volumes about true discontent, making Jackson and family friends deservedly uncomfortable for asking her to maintain a socially acceptable domestic attitude.
Grace is not the only vehicle for discomfort in Die My Love. Discussions of suicide, depictions of dementia and animals in peril show that Ramsay offers no safe haven.
Knowing the content of the film, Die My Love is a visceral vehicle for exploring despair for those who choose to experience it. Between Ramsay and Lawrence, viewers are in good hands as they take this unflinching journey.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.