Jennifer Lawrence Says Female Directors Don't 'Over-Direct' Like Men, Claiming Some Male Filmmakers 'Need to Feel in Control'

Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence has delivered a stinging critique of male-dominated film sets.

During a Q&A session following a screening of her new psychological drama, Die My Love, the star revealed a 'noticeable difference' when working with a female director compared to a male director.

The source of the difference? According to Lawrence, female filmmakers tend not to 'over-direct,' a habit she links to a male director's perceived need to constantly assert control.

The comments were made to Vulture during the promotional cycle for Die My Love, which was helmed by acclaimed Scottish director Lynne Ramsay.

Lawrence, who is known for her raw, uninhibited performances in films like Winter's Bone (directed by Debra Granik), The Beaver (directed by Jodie Foster), Serena (directed by Susanne Bier), and Causeway (directed by Lila Neugebauer), now claims she has identified a 'commonality' in her female collaborators.

It is a collective approach, she suggests, that is strikingly free from the 'annoying' impulses she has seen from some of her male counterparts.

Jennifer Lawrence Unpacks Why Male Directors Are 'Neurotic' and 'Controlling'

In her candid conversation, Lawrence zeroed in on the behaviour she finds most frustrating: the unnecessary display of directorial authority. She told Vulture that with some male directors, 'there's this need to constantly feel like they're directing the movie.'

This impulse, she suggested, often has no bearing on the creative output. 'And it's not even really getting anything done. It's just annoying,' she stated.

Lawrence took this observation a step further by offering her definition of the 'auteur' label, a term traditionally reserved for visionary (and often male) directors. 'When I think auteur, my mind kind of goes to controlling and ... what's that word? Neurotic!' the actress exclaimed, linking the celebrated term to controlling and anxious tendencies.

Her comments land at a critical time in Hollywood, where the debate over gender parity and the power dynamics on film sets continues to intensify, especially following numerous high-profile accusations against powerful male figures.

The actress positioned Lynne Ramsay's approach as the polar opposite of this 'neurotic' style. Lawrence praised Ramsay's method on the set of Die My Love, explaining that the director focused first on 'build[ing] this world' and ensuring the cast and crew were 'all on the same page, through music and conversations and the atmosphere and the set.'

This groundwork allowed Ramsay to slowly withdraw, giving the actors space to explore and experiment.

Lynne Ramsay's 'Magical' Set: The Anti-Auteur Approach Praised by Jennifer Lawrence

The director's hands-off technique, paradoxically, led to more interesting results. Lawrence described how the 'discomfort' arising 'from the lack of her visibility' often caused 'something interesting' to emerge from the scene. This created a unique, collaborative environment.

Lawrence shared one instance of this freedom, where she and the other actors accidentally laughed during a take. Instead of immediately restarting or scolding the interruption, Ramsay encouraged it: 'She'd be like, 'No, it was great. I liked that you laughed. Do it again.'

Ramsay herself echoed this sentiment when speaking to Vulture, confirming her desire for the actors to feel free on the set. 'I love working with actors. When you really trust each other, something just happens that's magical,' Ramsay noted.

Her technique involved occasionally letting the take run long, creating an intentional 'kind of discomfort' that forces the actors out of a planned rhythm and into the unexpected. This freedom is evident in Die My Love, which sees Lawrence take on the role of a woman consumed by psychosis following the birth of her child.

The film, which also stars Robert Pattinson, LaKeith Stanfield, Nick Nolte, and Sissy Spacek, opened in cinemas on November 7 from Mubi.

The film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2025, is based on Ariana Harwicz's 2012 novel of the same name. It is a raw portrait of a woman wrestling with maternal and domestic expectations.