Die My Love: Movie Review

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, Sissy Spacek, Nick Nolte
Director: Lynne Ramsay

A study in alienation and a descent into harder mental times, Die My Love benefits massively from both its director and female lead.

A blistering Lawrence is Grace, a writer who moves with her partner Jackson (Pattinson, solid but sidelined) into a cabin in Montana. Initially all over each other, the pair quickly have a child, forcing grace to feel like she's stagnating as she parents her newborn.

Director Lynne Ramsay's film, from the book by Ariana Harwicz, is a film where little too dramatic happens, but it feels like everything seismic is slowly taking place. From the initial feral joy of having a home of their own (albeit where a family suicide has taken place) to the almost claustrophobic sense of an inability to connect on any level, Lawrence as grace delivers a powerhouse performance that burns up the screen.

Whether it's watching her desperately try to connect with Pattinson's increasingly aloof character or seeing her rattle around in the vastness of the home and the land around her, you simply can't take your eyes off her performance.

There is an argument that some of the characters that intersect are underwritten and occasionally even Pattinson's xxx feels surplus to requirements but this examination of what motherhood and creative drought and outlets do to a person is compelling stuff.

A searing story that's bolstered by an awards-worthy turn from Lawrence, Die My Love is a singular piece of film that shows off its talent like never before.