Lynne Ramsay’s *Die My Love*, a psychological thriller about motherhood, mental fracture, and the violence of intimacy, was among the most celebrated psychological dramas of the year—and understandably so. Guaranteed to crawl under your skin, and set against the suffocating isolation of rural Montana that obliterates the myth of domestic peace, the film illustrates the brutal unraveling of Jennifer Lawrence’s character’s postpartum descent. It’s no wonder it has already cemented itself among Ramsay’s most haunting works.
Whether we’re talking about the incredible performances—Lawrence and Pattinson are extraordinary—or the gripping, descending narrative, *Die My Love* provides audiences with a visceral viewing experience that doesn’t comfort or explain but rather confronts, asking viewers to sit inside female angst rather than observe it from a safe distance.
If you finished the film craving more stories of this intensity, you’re in the right place. Below are 8 essential films like *Die My Love* that echo its thematic tones or narrative arcs.
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### 8. *Blue Valentine* (2010)
Derek Cianfrance’s *Blue Valentine* is a heart-wrenching tale of a marriage told across timelines. If *Die My Love* gripped you with its raw dissection of love leaning into toxicity, this 2010 film guarantees an equally unflinching story of quiet devastation.
Starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, the film follows Dean and Cindy over dual timelines—where their initial spark-filled bond slowly dissolves into a present-day grind of resentment. This indie must-see captures every awkward silence and drunken fight, turning everyday life into high-stakes drama.
The parallels to Ramsay’s film lie in how both chronicle relational splintering with bleakness and intimacy, with the domestic routine almost transforming into psychological dread. Visually, Cianfrance’s desaturated, time-jumping handheld style adds a compelling layer of authenticity.
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### 7. *Diary of a Mad Housewife* (1970)
Featuring a similar takedown of inescapable domestic hell, *Diary of a Mad Housewife* is unflinching, satirical, and deliciously vengeful. Frank Perry’s movie stars Carrie Snodgress in her breakout role as Tina Balser, a chic NYC housewife drowning in her smug attorney husband Jonathan’s (Richard Benjamin) condescension and her demanding daughters.
Between a torrid affair with a writer (Frank Langella) and family blowouts, Tina plans her escape from the “perfect wife” role while pouring her rage into a private diary. Like *Die My Love*, this film laser-focuses on a woman’s troubled psyche, intellectually stifled, whose identity erodes under the roles of wife and mother cracking under pressure.
It also possesses a stylish bite that leaves you smirking throughout while simultaneously keeping the narrative engaging, and at times, oddly moving. For audiences who appreciate vintage cinema, this hidden gem is worth a watch.
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### 6. *Persona* (1966)
Despite a different narrative, Ingmar Bergman’s black-and-white fever dream might appeal to those fascinated by *Die My Love*’s psychological complexity.
In this 85-minute mind-bender, Liv Ullmann plays Elisabet, a famous stage actress who abruptly stops speaking mid-performance. Sent to a secluded seaside cottage to recover, she is accompanied only by a chatty young nurse (Bibi Andersson). What begins as a healing journey quickly morphs into a power struggle where identities blur and merge.
While not carbon copies, *Die My Love* and *Persona* share profound DNA in dissecting the female psyche under pressure. Both films tackle a desperate rejection of societal expectations and fractured identities. Both trap two characters in isolating proximity—Grace with her husband, Elisabet with Alma—forcing closeness that breaks one and sparks a toxic tango.
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### 5. *Melancholia* (2011)
Unfolding in two acts, each offering its own unique lens on despair, *Melancholia* is among Lars von Trier’s most memorable and accomplished works.
The first act, “Justine,” follows a bride (Kirsten Dunst) whose severe depression dismantles her wedding day with harrowing precision. The second, “Claire,” shifts focus to her sister (Charlotte Gainsbourg), retreating to a remote country estate as they await a rogue planet ominously named Melancholia set to collide with Earth.
In this film, roles flip: the composed sister frays while Justine discovers an eerie acceptance of the end. If you’re seeking films similar to *Die My Love*, *Melancholia* is well worth watching. Here, mental health is not just a subplot but the texture of collapse itself. Justine’s depression is palpable, amplified by confining domestic spaces. Similarly, *Die My Love* traps Grace in an isolated farmhouse, heightening her despair.
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### 4. *mother!* (2017)
Also starring Jennifer Lawrence in a memorable, powerhouse role, *mother!* follows an unnamed woman striving to restore a remote, serene home alongside her writer husband (Javier Bardem). Their fragile domestic bliss shatters when uninvited guests arrive. What begins as a mild intrusion escalates quickly into chaos as crowds descend and violence erupts.
In this bewildering journey, maternal sacrifice drives the horror. Like *Die My Love*, Darren Aronofsky’s film is essentially a story of a woman pushed beyond her limits, where primal and protective instincts erupt into destructive fury.
Soon the home transforms into a nightmare where isolation turns the estate into a crucible of torment. Narrative-wise, both films explore the disregard and erasure of female agency by male partners, framing the protagonist’s descent not as a flaw but as a desperate response to overwhelming circumstances.
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### 3. *Repulsion* (1965)
Following withdrawn Belgian manicurist Carol Ledoux (Catherine Deneuve in a career-defining role), *Repulsion* charts a slow and suffocating psychological collapse rooted in isolation and repression.
Carol moves through life with a rigid, fragile detachment, visibly repulsed by male attention and physical intimacy. When her sister Helen (Yvonne Furneaux) leaves on holiday with her lover, Carol is left alone in the apartment. The domestic space begins to decay alongside Carol’s mind—cracks split the walls, hands emerge from nowhere to grope her, and food decomposes.
Her fear curdles into haunting paranoia, erupting into sudden and brutal violence. At its core, the film is about female isolation and its consequences, centering on a woman confined in domestic space where silence becomes oppressive and home a prison. Her descent is a response to violation, pressure, and profound emotional abandonment.
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### 2. *We Need to Talk About Kevin* (2011)
Tilda Swinton commands the screen as Eva in this devastating film, delivering one of the best performances of her career. Eva, a former travel writer, sees her once-expansive life contract into the suffocating terrain of motherhood. From infancy, her son Kevin (Ezra Miller) shows unsettling detachment that spirals into malice.
True to Lynne Ramsay’s style, *We Need to Talk About Kevin* is told through fractured, non-linear fragments that deepen the narrative’s impact. The film traces Eva’s growing alienation, culminating in the unthinkable, highlighting motherhood as the true horror.
Like *Die My Love*, it portrays motherhood as psychic warfare intensified by domestic isolation. Some even argue it is the most terrifying film about motherhood ever made.
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### 1. *A Woman Under the Influence* (1974)
If you liked *Die My Love*, you should watch *A Woman Under the Influence*, one of the most-picked films in the Criterion Collection. It features Gena Rowlands in a show-stopping performance as Mabel Longhetti—a working-class wife and mother whose emotional volatility refuses to stay contained.
Her character oscillates between warmth and misalignment, unsettling those around her. Her husband Nick (Peter Falk) responds not with understanding, but with control, ultimately committing her to a mental institution—much like Jennifer Lawrence’s character near the end of *Die My Love*.
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These eight films, rich with psychological depth and emotional complexity, offer nuanced explorations of female identity, domestic strife, and mental unraveling. Fans of *Die My Love* will find them both challenging and deeply rewarding.
https://collider.com/movies-like-die-my-love/
