Die My Love (2025) MUBI/Comedy-Drama RT: 118 minutes Rated R (sexual content, graphic nudity, language, some violent content) Director: Lynne Ramsay Screenplay: Enda Walsh, Lynne Ramsay and Alice Birch Music: Raife Burchell, Lynne Ramsay and George Vjestica Cinematography: Seamus McGarvey Release date: November 7, 2025 (US) Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, LaKeith Stanfield, Sissy Spacek, Nick Nolte, Gabrielle Rose, Debs Howard, Sarah Lind.
Rating: *** ½
Die My Love is one of those films that will have you saying “WTF?” a lot. This obviously means it’s not for everybody. Enter at your own risk.
Strangely enough, Die My Love is being described as a dark comedy. I can see the dark part, but a comedy? I hardly think so. This is a serious and seriously disturbing film about a woman mentally coming apart at the seams. It’s like a modern version of Roman Polanski’s Repulsion (1965) starring Catherine Deneuve.
Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) plays Grace, a young mother suffering from severe postpartum depression. She and her husband Jackson (Pattinson, The Batman) live in a house in the country that he inherited from his uncle. They initially seem like a happy (unmarried) couple. That changes when their son is born. It wasn’t planned; it just happened. Communication between them breaks down. He takes a job that requires him to be away from home a lot leaving her alone in an empty house with a new baby. She has no close friends or family nearby except for Jackson’s recently widowed mother Pam (Spacek, Coal Miner’s Daughter) who has problems of her own.
Jackson isn’t very supportive when he is around. At one point, he brings home a dog who barks incessantly. Grace starts to lose her mind. She becomes erratic and moody. She engages in self-harm and inappropriate behavior. There’s this motorcyclist (Stanfield, Get Out) who keeps vrooming by her house. He stops and stares at her through the visor on his helmet. He thinks about having sex with him. Is her real or just fantasy? The movie never gives a definitive answer to this. It leaves quite a few questions unanswered. That’s where the brilliance of Die My Love lies. It doesn’t explain itself. The audience is expected to figure things out (or not figure things out) for themselves. The term “postpartum depression” is never uttered. It’s just understood. This is going to be a deal-breaker for some potential viewers.
Director Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here) takes us inside the troubled mind of her protagonist. We see and hear the world around Grace from her damaged perspective. Ramsay uses sound to excellent effect. The noise never stops. It’s oppressive and unrelenting. It brings on a feeling of sensory overload. It’s the most unsettling aspect of the film. Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey employs a boxy 1.33:1 aspect ratio to create a sense of claustrophobia. Grace feels emotionally confined and isolated from a world that refuses to acknowledge the darker side of motherhood.
Ramsay clearly made the right choice casting Lawrence in the role. She’s an actress who isn’t afraid to get her hands (and feet) dirty. Lawrence delivers a powerful, phenomenal performance here, never making Grace an object of pity or some saintly figure suffering in silence. She imbues Grace with a sense of vulnerability and helplessness while never downplaying the thoughtlessness of some of her actions- e.g. stripping down to her underwear and jumping in the pool at a kiddie party, [SPOILER ALERT] shooting the dog when she can’t take the barking and whining anymore. She isn’t always likable, but she’s always sympathetic. Lawrence understands the difficult assignment and accomplishes it with aplomb.
Pattinson also does a great job as Jackson, the clueless partner who doesn’t really understand what’s going on with the mother of his child. He’s more upset that they haven’t had sex in a while. He tries to be patient with her, but her illness eventually takes its toll on him. His character is a tricky balancing act. He’s not outright malicious, but he’s not terribly sympathetic either. He might be cheating on her (there’s evidence to support it), but the movie never confirms it. The Twilight actor shows incredible depth here, digging down to his core to play a basically good but flawed man who can’t deal with what’s happening at home.
Spacek does excellent work as the world-weary MIL who seems to somewhat understand what Grace is going through. She knows a thing or two about dealing with spousal illness. She cared for her dementia-ridden husband (Nolte, Affliction) for years. She knows something is going on with Grace, but she has her own problems and isn’t in a place to help her. Nolte has only a couple of scenes, but he makes the most of what he’s got. He’s still got it.
Die My Love is NOT to be taken lightly. It’s not escapist fare. It’s not an enjoyable viewing experience. You will feel as though you’ve been through the wringer afterwards; emotionally, mentally and physically. It is, however, fascinating. It’s horrific to watch Grace’s descent into madness, but you can’t bring yourself to look away, especially when it has you saying “WTF?”
