Lynne Ramsay joins forces with producer Martin Scorsese and stars Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson for Die My Love, the first screen adaptation of Ariana Harwicz's novel of the same name. Following a young New York couple who have moved to a remote home in Montana, their adjustments to their new surroundings and life as parents places strain on their relationship, particularly for Grace whose deteriorating mental health pushes their marriage into unsettling territory.
There are many elements in Ramsay's uncompromising Die My Love worthy of the highest praise; a dizzying depiction of postnatal depression and the minefield of love in a peculiar environment, Die My Love's ambitions and challenging subject matter craft a unique experience that feels almost enchanting in its pull. Managing the various tones that find themselves embedded in the source material, Die My Love sways between pitch-black comedy and dark thrills with an always clearly-defined intention, which Ramsay sharply executes with remarkable sophistication. It's such an unnerving environment we find ourselves in, enriched by the terrific soundtrack cultivated, and Seamus McGarvey's powerful cinematograph, which captures a depraved, almost carnal energy central to the pervading discomfort the film thrives upon.
With a ferocious, blistering and often animalistic performance, Die My Love offers Jennifer Lawrence one of her most complex characters in years, delivering through Grace a most fearless performance unwavering in its dedication and commitment. While some actors may be tempted to portray a shrinking vulnerability, Lawrence's performance is big and bold yet never overtly showy, striking a fine balance that showcases her range tremendously, contrasting a sardonic wit with a spiralling loss of control. This second wave of Lawrence's career has only further cemented not only her immeasurable talent but her stunning versatility in the projects she selects, which feels now more than ever in this arguably devolving cinematic landscape purposeful and resolute. Opposite Pattinson, who provides a worthy, fun and slightly crazed turn, the pair conjures an eminently watchable and absorbing dynamic so crucial to the film's success.
And yet, the film's screenplay - penned by Ramsay alongside Enda Walsh and Alice Birch - feels as suffocated as the lead character it is portraying, preventing the film from tackling the deepest and darkest depths the film has the tools to delve into. At the same time as feeling narratively restricted, it also feels like we enter periodic stretches that appear to ramble, and the emotional payoff feels muted and unfulfilling. It seems that, to make up for those deficiencies, Ramsay leans even harder into her abstract visual language, which in its own right would make for a richer, more striking aesthetic - but it becomes rather distraction, inadvertently highlighting the problems found elsewhere and doing the rest of the film a disservice.
With disappointingly little scope within the script, and restricted room to breathe as a result, there's an awful lot going on in Die My Love in a relatively confined space, and the results are an ambitious if chaotic jumble of ideas without the latitude to have them executed to the best of their ability. And yet, with such a compelling lead performance from Jennifer Lawrence, with amble support from Robert Pattinson, alongside a clearly talented filmmaking team who craft a singular vision, Ramsay's Die My Love is still arguably worth your time and investment. Perhaps a film that will be rewarded by repeat viewing, as audience digest the raw, carnal forces on display, Die My Love is far from faultless but still formidable filmmaking.