One film that’s yet to be announced at any of the fall fests, especially TIFF and NYFF, is Lynne Ramsay’s “Die, My Love,” which was a late addition at Cannes because Ramsay barely finished editing the film.
This was total deja vu for Ramsay as her previous film, “You Were Never Really Here,” was also a late submission at Cannes 2017. It even ended up screening without any end credits at Cannes, but still managed to garner great reviews at the fest.
That was not necessarily the case with “Die, My Love,” which despite garnering some positive notices, left quite a few people puzzled on the Croisette. Although messy in tone, I found the film to be quite good, led by an incredible, Oscar-worthy lead performance by Jennifer Lawrence.
IndieWire’s “Screen Talk” podcast seems to now be hinting that Ramsay went back to the editing room after Cannes to further shape “Die, My Love,” which might potentially explain its absence at the fall fests — although I still wouldn’t rule out a Telluride appearance.
Ramsay’s obviously deeply invested in refining the film’s tone and narrative clarity, which was an issue. It also means audiences and critics may see a notably different version when the film eventually makes its wider theatrical debut in November.
In “Die, My Love,” Lawrence’s Grace gives birth to a baby boy, and the spiral begins. Barely getting any help, and support, and sex, from her husband (Robert Pattinson), a sort of depression transforms into full-blown psychosis.
Most reviews have pointed towards the film dealing with postpartum depression, but during a candid conversation with film critic Elvis Mitchell, Ramsay herself was saying they got it all wrong, clearly frustrated about the mixed reactions towards her film.
“This whole postpartum thing is just bullsh*t,” Ramsay said. “It’s not about that. It’s about a relationship breaking down, it’s about love breaking down, and sex breaking down after having a baby. And it’s also about a creative block.”
Based on Ariana Harwicz’s 2017 novel of the same name, the film also stars LaKeith Stanfield, Sissy Spacek, and Nick Nolte. Ramsay directed from a script she co-wrote with Enda Walsh and Alice Birch.
MUBI acquired the film for $24M, the biggest deal out of Cannes this year, which has only further puzzled people as to why it’s been a no-show in all of these fall festivals lineup announcements.