Martin Scorsese was the reason why Jennifer Lawrence was cast as the lead role in Lynne Ramsay’s forthcoming adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s novel Die, My Love, it has been revealed.
The thriller– based on the Argentinian author’s 2017 book – follows Grace (Lawrence) as a new mother living in the countryside whose life unravels when she develops postpartum psychosis. Robert Pattinson plays Grace’s husband, Jackson.
Postpartum psychosis – a severe and debilitating mental illness – affects 1,400 women in the UK each year. Between one and five of those result in suicide. Symptoms often come out of nowhere, often within the first two weeks of giving birth, and range from low mood and mania to delusions and hallucinations.
Scorsese, who acted as a producer on the film, read Harwicz’s novel as part of his book club in the summer of 2020. He immediately sent a copy of the book to Lawrence’s production outfit, Excellent Cadaver.
Justine Ciarrocchi, who runs the company with Lawrence, told Screen Daily: “He was adamant no one could pull off Grace like [Lawrence] could.”
Five years later, Die, My Love will premiere at Cannes Film Festival on Saturday 17 May.
According to Ciarrocchi, Ramsay was the first and only choice to direct the film. Her previous work includes the Tilda Swinton-starrer We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)and the Joaquin Phoenix thriller You Were Never Really Here (2017).
“Her authentic, ambitious and unabashed sensibility was what the most compelling version of an adaptation required,” Ciarrocchi said. “We spent about six months emailing, referencing our own personal experiences about women and motherhood.”
Scorsese’s praise of Lawrence follows after Sean Penn recently heralded the Oscar-winner as the “last movie star” in Hollywood. The Mystic River star was discussing the film industry on a podcast with Louis Theroux when he was asked if Leonardo DiCaprio was still a bankable star.
Penn agreed that DiCaprio was and argued that the Titanic star started out “before they stopped” making proper movie stars. “I think the movie star manufacturer ran out around Jennifer Lawrence’s time or something,” Penn said. “She’s probably the last movie star.”
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Lawrence made her Hollywood debut in 2008’s The Garden Party, but her breakthrough role arrived two years later in Winter’s Bone for which she earned her first Oscar nomination. She was 20 years old at the time.
She went on to play Mystique in X-Men: First Class, reprising her role in three sequels, and was cast as the lead in the Hunger Games series.
In 2012, she starred alongside Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook and won her first Oscar for Best Actress.
She has been nominated a further two times, for 2014’s American Hustle and 2016’s Joy – both films by Silver Linings Playbook director David O Russell.
More recently, she starred in the 2021 political satire Don’t Look Up alongside DiCaprio, Lila Neugebauer’s 2022 war drama Causeway, and the 2023 Netflix comedy No Hard Feelings,.
If you have been affected by this article, you can contact the following organisations for support: mind.org.uk, nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth, mentalhealth.org.uk.
