‘Die, My Love’ review: Jennifer Lawrence dazzles in Lynne Ramsay’s Oscars shoo-in

Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson are two of the most interesting Hollywood stars to have made their names in blockbuster franchises. Lawrence led The Hunger Games series as plucky rebel Katniss Everdeen while Pattinson made his name as sparkling vampire Edward in the Twilight films.

In the years since, they’ve headlined both commercial and art-house work to great acclaim, yet Die, My Love is their first time sharing a screen. In this adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’ novel of the same name, our superstar pair play Grace and Jackson, a lively, horny couple who move from New York to an isolated home in rural Montana to be closer to Jackson’s parents and start a family of their own. A year after the big move, Grace is suffering from severe postnatal depression, while Jackson is spending more and more time working away from home – though we’re never quite sure what he does for a living.

His mother Pam (Sissy Spacek) may still be mourning the death of her husband by keeping a loaded shotgun close by, but she also offers Grace some much-needed support, though this only slows down her unravelling mental state. The dark comedy has her viciously quieting a chatty check-out girl in a convenience store and later, Grace strips to her underwear and leaps into a swimming pool at a local family barbecue, having already made people uncomfortable with her acid tongued barbs. She smashes up her bathroom, talks to herself manically and has recurring thoughts about a local man (LaKeith Stanfield) who may or may not be riding his motorbike past their home every day.

The deliberately woozy presentation of the story and Grace’s wild behaviour means the audience are constantly questioning what is real and what is a fantasy caused by isolation and a dog that just won’t stop barking. It’s a difficult trick to pull off but Lynne Ramsay directs the hell out of this intense, twisting story. Die, My Love is her first film since 2017’s psychological thriller You Were Never Really Here and she knows how to get the very best from her cast. What could have been an unfocused mess in lesser hands is thoroughly compelling.

Lawrence already has a career full of great performances (Winter’s Bone, American Hustle and her Oscar-winning turn in Silver Linings Playbook), but this might be her finest work to date. She sings, shouts, prowls like a panther through fields and is never less than completely committed. In one scene, after Grace absconds from her own wedding reception, Jackson actually does have her committed. Pattinson is his usual reliable presence but has less to do. This doesn’t detract from an excellent film that will probably be in the running for big prizes come awards season. Away from the shine of Hollywood, Die, My Love is also sure to provoke conversation around the incredibly challenging time many new mothers experience.

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