Die My Love. This is one hundred percent a big swing, and possibly something that felt revolutionary on the drawing board. However, I fear, personally that it is something that will stay as a swing. Having two headliners across from each other in Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) and Robert Pattinson (The Batman) sounds like it would be a recipe for an incredible achievement in 2025. And, on the surface, it is. With a relatively short runtime nowadays of 1h59 mins, it compresses so much emotion into a film that is intentionally chopping through different parts of their life, in a non-linear timeline, all whilst intertwining with their present day.
The film does a fantastic job of showing how things lead from one thing to another and there is a clear thought-provoking lens that almost makes you question “wait, how does it ACTUALLY get here?” It is carried by two stellar performances from both Lawrence and Pattinson; along with a cheeky LaKeith Stanfield cameo that really brought a smile to my face. The trailer, albeit captivating, was misleading and it makes you think you’re getting film A but you’re actually getting film H. There are so many points within it that change the course of action for the characters and it is so well portrayed through a wonderful effort in cinematography. Visually, this is stunning.
On the other side of the coin, a visual spectacle doesn’t make up for it being a bit all over the place. Throughout Die My Love, we see some incredibly difficult, abstract and unique topics being delved into, particularly with postnatal depression. Alongside this main theme, it is accompanied by comedic elements, loving nature, but also the harsher sides of Grace’s condition with paranoia, anxiety and disillusion. The acting throughout these intense scenes, mostly by Jennifer Lawrence is exceptional, albeit every now and again leaned more into overacting but that is more of a personal nitpick.
Essentially, what Die My Love ended up being was an incredible showcase of abstractness on the screen through impeccable cinematography and near perfect acting. That being said, the cons say that it can be difficult to follow with a twisty narrative, and kind of not having felt a cohesive conclusion to the film. It feels as if it could have ended ten times and it would have been appropriate, but it didn’t and it made the ending drag on a little. I think by the end of it, I had experienced a few ending points be dragged on out, I left feeling nothing for the film. I respect it, I admire aspects, but I also feel incredibly underwhelmed. I wanted this to work, and on paper it should, but it was sometimes jarring, sometimes a little lacklustre, whilst also at times, entertaining, funny and concise.
I think this is a good effort, and I’d be intrigued to see how the film developed from first draft to final product, but I can’t see myself watching it again.
I definitely, absolutely believe this was interesting. But the same belief I have for it being interesting, I hold for it being a lot of nothing. I was hooked, until I wasn’t and I was hoping for an upwards curve, but it is brave in letting film not have its happy ending.
Die My Love
Review written by Jack Roberts who has previously ran their own page (Instagram @jackreviewsfilms) and is passionately finding their way back into the conversation to keep talking about what brings us all together in cinema, to keep learning from each other and discovering more about the silver screen and everything that goes into making it happen.
