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Released in theaters on January 8, Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film is a cinematic gem full of humanity. Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton burst onto the screen and form an incredible female duo. If it is of course a question of death, The Room Next Door nonetheless remains a luminous and moving film.
After two short films in English (The human voice with Tilda Swinton and Strange way of life), Pedro Almodóvar directs with The Room Next Door his first feature film in the English language, awarded a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival last September. Inspired by the novel So what is your torment? by the American writer Sigrid Nunez, the Spanish director offers us a remarkable film where he addresses the issue of the end of life with great intelligence and subtlety.
After many years without seeing each other, Ingrid (Julianne Moore) crosses paths with her friend Martha (Tilda Swinton) when she learns that her days are numbered. Ingrid will then have to face death (which terrorizes her so much) to accompany her friend in her last wish. If the initial premise is not very cheerful, the film does not fall into melodrama, quite the contrary. The director also explains that he wanted “Avoid making a lugubrious or gory film. The film is full of light and vitality: those brought by the character of Martha and the force of nature, so enveloping for the two women in the house located in the middle of the forest. »
“To accompany, it is not necessary to speak. To accompany, preferably, we listen. You have to know how to listen actively, so that the person speaking sees their words reflected in the eyes of the person listening and accompanying them. »
Pedro Almodovar
Female friendship in the spotlight
The two actresses excel in their roles and from their duo emerges a remarkable alchemy. While Martha (Tilda Swinton) confides and reveals herself, Ingrid (Julianne Moore) is present at her side and listens to her confide her memories. If Martha appears confident throughout the film, Ingrid continues to evolve and learn alongside her dying friend.
Pedro Almodóvar gives a special place to female friendship through the bond that binds Martha to Ingrid. Lost in sight for many years, the two women find each other as if they had left each other the day before. While one reveals herself, the other listens fully, without judgment. Julianne Moore is impeccable in her silences, she is there, entirely present for her friend. Her look says a lot and accompanies Tilda Swinton’s confessions in the most beautiful way. “Staying with someone in silent, supportive, human complicity is sometimes the pinnacle of what we can do for others. » confides the director for whom this friendship renewed by the two women is “sublimated by an emotion similar to love, but without the disadvantages of love. »
Du grand Almodóvar
The English language takes nothing away from the Almodóvar “touch” that we instantly recognize. The colors, the dialogues always very accurate, the aesthetics of the shots, the perfect reverse shots between the two actresses or even the superb music by Alberto Iglesias, the director’s official composer for 30 years now, everything is there. For our greatest pleasure.
Well known for filming women like no one else, Pedro Almodóvar is no exception to the rule with this new feature film. Sublimated by the camera, the two actresses engage in a masterful interpretation from which incredible strength emerges. Each emotion is offered to us through shots, of which only the director has the secret, and the reverse shots of a Tilda Swinton speaking and a Julianne Moore listening border on perfection.
Between reunions and farewells, the film invites us to question our way of approaching illness and death when it affects our loved ones. Here, sadness and embarrassment gradually give way to empathy and acceptance which will allow the two women to live a deep, sincere and respectful friendship.
And The Room Next Door is a film that deals with death, it is above all a deeply luminous film about life and human relationships.
The Room Next Door by Pedro Almodóvar, drama (1H47), distributed by Pathé Films. With Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore and John Turturro. In theaters January 8, 2025.
