A poetically haunting spiral into depression.
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If anyone’s told us tweens back in the day that two of our biggest stars would kill it in a movie together, our minds would explode. But we’re all at the age where that’s all in the past and these actors are doing way more mature work to prove they’re more than just young adult titans.
Enter Enda Walsh and Lynne Ramsay, writer and director of the psychological drama Die My Love, based on the novel of the same name by Ariana Harwicz. Together they craft a beautiful yet haunting tale of depression that forefronts Jennifer Lawrence (of the Hunger Games franchise) acting prowess with Robert Pattinson (of Twilight fame) in a sturdy supporting role that prove they are some of their generation’s greats.
Die My Love follows young mother Grace (Lawrence) and her husband Jack (Pattinson). They live in rural Montana where the former grapples with severe postpartum depression and psychosis, which unravels her marriage and her grip on reality. The film also stars LaKeith Stanfield, Nick Nolte, and Sissy Spacek.
There’s something so primal and almost animalistic in the way the characters manoeuvre the space and the people around them. Watching the film almost feels invasive thanks to cinematographer Seamus McGarvey’s camera work. His shot compositions echo a romantic tango between the actors and his camera, framing them in a manner that is almost pervasive. But it’s through this that we are pulled in to Grace’s life from the get go, following her every move and watching her slowly succumb to the intensity of her emotions as the film progresses.
This is Lawrence’s vehicle to drive and boy, does she own every shot and frame with a hungry passion that it shouldn’t matter if she never does another film after this because she’s already poured her all. She’s both hinged and unhinged where it matters, making for a heartbreaking yet captivating watch. Trust Pattinson to step up and match her frenetic energy to remind us he’s also part of this story, a clueless and powerless partner trapped in a self-imploding connection.
Die My Love is a tragic tale of one woman’s degrading sanity with aplenty delicate weaves to denounce the stigma of post-natal depression. It burns with a hot passion and aches to be seen.
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