Mike Miller is the executive editor on the movies team at Entertainment Weekly. He previously worked as a writer-reporter for PEOPLE and TMZ.
After starring alongside Hollywood heartthrobs like Martin Sheen, Mel Gibson, and Sam Shepard, Sissy Spacek knows a thing or two about heating up the silver screen. But according to the legendary actress, nothing holds a candle to her costars in this weekend's Die My Love.
"They were brilliant to watch," the Carrie star tells Entertainment Weekly of Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson. "I mean, there was nothing sexier than watching them fight and then make up. It was incredible."
Spacek appears opposite the duo in Lynne Ramsay's dark dramedy as Pam, the mother of Pattinson's Jackson, who has a fiery, if turbulent, relationship with Lawrence's Grace. At the start of the film, the young couple moves from New York City to Jackson's rural hometown in the hope of finding a quieter life in the countryside. But after their child is born, Grace struggles to adjust to her new, isolated life as a stay-at-home mom -- especially with Jackson often away for work. As their once-passionate love life begins to deteriorate, so too does Grace's mental health, leading to explosive fights, violence, and infidelity.
Spacek says it was "amazing" to witness Pattinson and Lawrence portray this volatile couple as their "marriage comes apart." Of Lawrence, she adds, "We had such a connection. We've known each other for years, but this is the first time we've worked together. And to watch her play this character, where she would be so present and taking care of Pam...There was a reversal of roles, so she'd take care of me, and then I would take care of her, and then she would take care of me, and I would take care of her. And I think that she meant everything to Pam. She was her hope for the future."
While each is at a different stage in life, Grace and her mother-in-law face similar challenges. While one mother battles loneliness and postpartum depression, the other finds herself isolated and rudderless after the loss of her husband, Harry, played by Nick Nolte. Their struggles also seem to manifest in similar ways. Both women embark on long, directionless walks while holding weapons. But, where Grace walks under her own free will with a knife, Pam's shotgun-toting strolls occur only in her sleep.
"She didn't even know she was sleepwalking," Spacek says of her character. Asked if she's ever done so in her own life, the actress admits with a laugh, "I think I did. I woke up one night on the floor in front of the refrigerator. How did I get here? I didn't remember. I wasn't cognizant of getting there, and I don't know how I got on the floor. Hope I didn't fall!"
As for reuniting with Nolte, with whom she starred in 1980's Heartbeat and 1997's Affliction, Spacek says, "We just took up where we left off. He is a brilliant actor. I learned a great deal from him about the craft. He writes an entire background for every character he does. I mean, it's like volumes."
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She adds, "He's very, very prepared and in Affliction, he was just so spectacular...I loved working with him every time I did. But in this one, he was always so present in that character, and it was difficult, I'm sure, because he and Jennifer were dealing with a mental illness."
Taking a moment to reflect on their work in the film, Spacek says, "It's a brutal movie, but it's also a tender movie -- and very sexy."