Director Lynne Ramsay’s new film Die My Love begins at a rundown home in the middle of nowhere. For most, it would be an unpleasant place to be, but for Grace (Jennifer Lawrence) and Jackson (Robert Pattinson), the peeling wallpaper and dirty floors are rife with opportunity: This is the house where they’re going to grow their family together.
It’s also here that Grace and Jackson will have the best sex of their lives.
It happens the same night. Heavy, furious rock music blasts through the house as Grace and Jackson party, drinking and giggling like kids. There’s an animalistic sense to the proceedings, with the two exhibiting carelessness and unpredictability as they run amok through their new home. They even act like animals, writhing around on the ground.
For the moment, it feels like they’re the only two people in the world. There’s an unmistakable feeling of freedom that permeates the air: lovers at the beginning of their life together. Grace and Jackson jump around, laugh, scream, shout, and dance. It seems like they can do anything—and what they want to do is get it on.
They don’t even have a bed yet, but that doesn’t stop them. When crawling around on the floor and sizing each other up, Grace and Jackson lunge at each other with an overwhelming sense of lust. As hard rock music continues to pulse throughout the room, they grab one another and kiss with such a level of intensity that you wouldn’t be surprised if they bit each other’s lips and drew blood. Giving into their urges releases an unfettered excitement as they roll around on the floor, exploring each other’s bodies like it’s the very first time.
A flurry of rapid cuts finds Grace and Jackson going from being fully clothed to their underwear, and then fully naked in a couple of seconds. It’s a great choice that emphasizes just how badly these two desire one another; it’s so quick because they need each other on a primal level and simply can’t wait for the arduous process of undressing, so Ramsay forgoes the process in a couple of cuts.
Once they’re naked, the sex is as fast and furious as the undressing. Their connection is less of a want and more of a need—in the moment, it feels like Grace or Jackson could die without this physical intimacy. That’s how fiery and electric this seems for Grace and Jackson. Sex may not be everything to them, but it sure feels like it. It’s over almost as soon as it began, but you can feel the impact of the encounter throughout the entirety of Die My Love.
Grace and Jackson’s relationship grows increasingly frayed after they have a child. On the surface, all they lack in the so-called American dream is a white picket fence, yet their relationship feels more like a nightmare. What were once fiery explosions of sex and love have become embittered petty squabbles, with the sound of their crying baby (or barking dog, a pet Grace was strongly against) interrupting every moment.
That’s not to say Grace is a bad mother. She adores her child and would do anything for him. But postpartum depression has deeply impacted her, and Grace becomes detached from the reality of both herself and her family to the point where she’s a danger to herself.
Physical intimacy between Grace and Jackson has diminished—in one heated conversation, she confronts him that they haven’t had sex in three months. But there are other concerns around their sex life. Grace is convinced Jackson is cheating on her, after she finds differing amounts of condoms in his truck’s glove compartment. She attempts to have sex with Jackson in the car (where they’ve done it countless times, she reminds him), but Jackson can’t perform. It’s a moment that recalls the animalistic nature of their early lovemaking, but with none of the desire that was once so rich.
Grace’s physical desire is treated with great respect by Ramsay, and Lawrence’s astonishing performance never lets Grace seem as if she’s a crazed woman. The film is a portrait of a mother whose needs aren’t being met. Because we’ve seen how electric and extraordinary their connection is, we can feel how painful it must be to suddenly lose such a vital part of their love.
The opening sex scene isn’t just hot, exhilarating, or astonishing—though it is all of those things. It’s a symbol of everything Grace and Jackson once had, a freedom and boundless passion that has been heavily compromised when the makeup of their family changed. Die My Love is a powerful but challenging film about what it means to feel lost and isolated, and what happens when the creativity that fueled you is draining away. One of the most compelling sex scenes of the year is at the heart of that overwhelming loss.
