At the 78th Cannes Film Festival, Jennifer Lawrence was in the news not only for her acting in Die, My Love, but for sharing her very personal thoughts on motherhood and postpartum depression. The psychological drama, which had audiences on their feet after its debut screening, is about a young mother’s unravelling into mental illness, a part that resonated particularly with the Oscar-winning actress.
Jennifer Lawrence On Postpartum
In an interview at the press conference for the film, Lawrence spoke about the emotional exhaustion of being part of a project that mirrors her own life. “It was heartbreaking,” she said, speaking of how hard it was to detach herself from her character. She disclosed that she had just given birth when filming started, which made the script even closer to home and emotionally draining as reported by Variety. Lawrence was candid about the difficulty of postpartum depression, calling it an alienating and isolating experience. She considered how the protagonist of Die, My Love relocates to a rural community with no network of support, but made it clear that the isolation of postpartum anxiety and depression is not only a function of geography. “Even if you’re in a room full of people, pain like that can isolate you entirely,” she explained, as per reports by Variety.
Jennifer Lawrence also revealed that she was five months pregnant with her second baby while she was shooting the film. Discussing motherhood, she described it as “brutal and incredible,” mentioning how much it has changed each and every part of her life and work. She explained that having children now influences all her professional decisions, where she works, how long she’s away, and which roles she chooses. Lawrence also shared that motherhood has heightened her emotional sensitivity, something she sees as an asset in her acting. “It’s like discovering a new part of myself,” she said, noting how her connection to raw emotion has deepened. “If you’re an actor, having kids might just unlock something creatively.”
Directed by Lynne Ramsay, Die, My Love is an adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s 2017 novel of the same name. Lawrence plays a mother who struggles with postpartum psychosis, while Robert Pattinson is her husband. The narrative goes into the psychological breakdown of a woman whose state of mind starts to disintegrate, causing a great burden on her marriage.