Die My Love, the latest feature from Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay, was one of the hottest titles heading into this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and the film’s stock has only grown following a headline-grabbing, twenty-four million dollar acquisition by Mubi.
The film has been divisive on the ground in Cannes and is still a hot talking point up and down the Croisette. But did anyone who watched the film in the Lumiere on Friday actually understand the film? Ramsay, a Cannes Film Festival vet, is skeptical.
“This whole postpartum thing is just bullshit,” Ramsay said yesterday afternoon of the discourse surrounding her movie during a fireside chat with veteran film journalist and critic Elvis Mitchell here in Cannes. “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.”
Starring Robert Pattinson and Jennifer Lawrence, Die My Love tells the story of a young couple who leave their comfortable lives in New York City for a quieter life in rural Montana. They live a life of passion, but after they have a baby, their relationship is shaken to its core.
The pic is based on the 2017 novel by Ariana Harwicz and also stars LaKeith Stanfield, Sissy Spacek and Nick Nolte. Ramsay directed Die My Love from her script, written with Enda Walsh and Alice Birch. Producers include Justine Ciarrocchi and Lawrence on behalf of Excellent Cadaver, as well as Martin Scorsese, Andrea Calderwood, and Black Label Media’s Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill, and Thad Luckinbill. The latter served as the financier.
Later during the session with Mitchell, Ramsay broke down how Lawrence ended up in the pic alongside Pattinson, telling the audience that the Oscar winner had reached out to her to express her interest in collaborating. Ramsay said that she “probably didn’t get back to her for six months,” but the pair reconnected, with Ramsay suggesting a different project. But the filmmaker said Lawrence persisted.
“She said, ‘What about this Die My Love’. But I said I don’t want to do something like We Need to Talk About Kevin. I’d like to do something light. Because people like to box you in,” Ramsay said of her early conversations with Lawrence. Ramsay’s 2011 feature We Need to Talk About Kevin is a psychological thriller about the strained relationship between a teenager and his parents. Tilda Swinton, John C. Riley, and Ezra Miller star.
After some convincing, Ramsay said she wrote a first draft for Die My Love, and she ultimately discovered her interest in the project.
Mubi’s deal on the film includes a full domestic theatrical commitment on 1,500 screens for 45 days. The streamer/distributor took the following territories: North America, Latin America, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Turkey, India, Australia and New Zealand. It’s the first major deal on the ground for a film playing at Cannes and by far Mubi’s biggest acquisition ever.
This year’s Cannes Film Festival runs until Saturday.