Robert Pattinson and Jennifer Lawrence drew fresh attention at the BFI London Film Festival as Lynne Ramsay described how she pushed the “Die My Love” leads into primal territory on set, recounting a moment when she asked them to “crawl like animals in the grass and roll around” to unlock a scene’s physical intensity. Speaking at a festival conversation on Oct. 18, the director also reflected on her long creative rapport with Joaquin Phoenix, calling him “totally terrifying” in the best sense — an actor whose unpredictability raises the stakes.
The appearance extends a busy run for the film since its Cannes competition premiere in May and its current stop in London, where festival listings emphasize the drama’s portrait of postpartum psychosis. Ramsay’s event formed part of the festival’s Screen Talks series, which spotlights filmmakers discussing process and career milestones.
Publicity around the London bow has mixed filmmaker commentary with cast anecdotes. In a recent TV interview taped to promote the film, Lawrence joked about Ramsay’s improvisational methods — including a rehearsal exercise that later became a nude dance on day one of filming — framing the approach as uncomfortable yet disarming in service of the story’s rawness. The film’s promotional clips and earlier festival reactions have highlighted the project’s combination of intimate performance, aggressive sound design and abrupt tonal shifts.
“Die My Love,” adapted from Ariana Harwicz’s novel, centers on a young mother spiraling as isolation and untreated illness erode a rural marriage. London program notes underline that emphasis, positioning the film within the festival’s lineup of psychologically driven work while noting the marquee pairing of Lawrence and Pattinson. Reviews across the year have ranged from raves for Lawrence’s commitment to more skeptical appraisals of the film’s extremes, a divide that has kept the title in the awards-season conversation while sparking debate about how mainstream films portray maternal mental health.
Ramsay’s remarks in London also touched on the value of risk with trusted collaborators. Her description of Phoenix’s intensity echoed earlier accounts of their work together and set expectations for future projects, even as “Die My Love” heads toward its theatrical rollout on the back of high-wattage star power and a campaign that leans into process stories from set.
