Jennifer Lawrence has electrified the Cannes Film Festival with the world premiere of “Die, My Love,” the latest directorial effort from the acclaimed Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay. The movie earned a 6-minute ovation following its world premiere. “Die, My Love” is in competition at Cannes and competing for the Palme d’Or.
Ramsay cut her own ovation short, struck with emotion.
“Wow. I’m so overwhelmed. Thanks to these amazing actors. I’ve got to get it together, I’ll see you in a minute,” she said, breaking into a run up the aisle and out of the Palais.
In the film ,Lawrence and Pattinson proved worthy adversaries, who bicker and screw their way into emotional oblivion in Ramsey’s tense portrait of a woman undone. The crowd at Cannes viscerally reacted to Lawrence’s self-inflicted violence — smashing her head into mirrors, jumping through glass panes and scratching the walls until her fingers bled.
“Die, My Love” is based on author Ariana Harwicz’s 2017 novel of the same name, which centers on a new mother who enters psychosis after developing postpartum depression. Oscar winner Lawrence stars in Ramsay’s film as the mother, with Robert Pattinson playing her husband. The couple’s marriage is thrown into disarray amid the wife’s mental health struggle. Ramsay’s supporting cast includes LaKeith Stanfield, Sissy Spacek and Nick Nolte. The film does not yet have a U.S. distributor but is surely going to be a big sales title out of Cannes.
Ramsay is a Cannes veteran, with each of her five feature films now having premiered at the festival. Her 1999 debut “Ratcatcher” premiered in the festival’s Un Certain Regard section and went on to win the BAFTA Award for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer. Ramsay returned to Cannes in 2021 via Directors’ Fortnight with “Movern Callar.” She made her Cannes competition debut in 2011 with the Tilda Swinton-led “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” and then returned to competition in 2017 with “You Were Never Really Here.” That film won Cannes prizes for best screenplay and best actor for Joaquin Phoenix. “Die, My Love” is Ramsay’s first directorial effort in eight years.
Lawrence, who also produced “Die, My Love,” attended the 2023 Cannes Film Festival as a producer of the documentary “Bread and Roses,” which world premiered in the special screenings section, but Ramsay’s movie marks the first time Lawrence has found herself in Cannes competition. She’s debuted previous movies at festivals such as Venice (“mother!”) and TIFF (“Silver Linings Playbook,” which went on to win her the Oscar for best actress). Pattinson is a Cannes regular, with “Die, My Love” joining the likes of “Good Time,” “Maps to the Stars” and “The Lighthouse” on his list of Cannes premieres.
