Movie of the week: The Room Next Door

Martha (Moore) and Ingrid (Swinton) are close friends who lost touch after working together at a magazine. Since then, the first has led a flourishing career as an author while the second has become a war correspondent.

Ingrid’s terminal cancer will bring them closer together and reconsolidate their bonds. Delving into their memories, the two women will discuss the passing of time, remorse, friendship, love…

Using judicious flashbacks and jumps forward, Almodóvar gently leads his complicit duo to an isolated house near Woodstock, New York, where Ingrid wishes to die.

Pour The Room Next Door, Almodóvar was inspired by the novel So what is your torment by Sigrid Nunez, but the viewer could easily believe that it is more of an adaptation of a play.

In an obvious desire for sobriety, in accordance with the seriousness of the subject, its production focuses on purity rather than the usual fancy effects. Most of the story takes place behind closed doors between the two women.

Tragedians of this caliber can do wonders, simply by using the muscles in their faces (even if Swinton sports a gaunt figure and the chapped lips of a dying woman). Moore approaches her Marthe with a more emotional register (without pressing too hard) while Swinton plays a more distant and rational Ingrid in the face of her destiny.

Almodóvar uses the bright colors of his setting, but without his usual exuberance. (Métropole Films Distribution)

The Spaniard uses the bright colors of his decor, but without his usual exuberance. His proposal turns out to be surprisingly less melodramatic than usual, but he couldn’t resist the urge to add a layer of it with the soundtrack with much too strong strings. It’s frankly annoying.

Obviously, the strength of the feature film diminishes a bit here, since we have medical assistance in dying. In the film, the fact that Martha wants to kill herself before wasting away terrifies Ingrid – even if she only has to be in “the next room”. Conversely, the gesture forces her to fear death, which frightens her.

Moreover, if the title had not already been used, the feature film could well have been titled Chronicle of a death foretold. Almodóvar, however, significantly cites People of Dublin (The Dead1987), cinematographic testament by John Huston and adaptation of the eponymous short story by James Joyce.

Even if The room next door does not turn out to be as “personal” (read autobiographical) as Pain and glory (2019), the parallels are obvious, notably the lurking death. Same thing with Parallel mothers (2021), which also deals with filiation and female friendship. As for the maternal figure, always omnipresent in his corpus, we think of All about my mother (1999), but how many others!

With a great of his caliber, in the game of comparisons, we can risk losing sight of the fact that this is, once again, a strong work, a magnificent ode to friendship. Even more, a tribute to the real support of a caregiver.

And that is very beautiful.

The room next door is presented in the cinema.

“The Room Next Door”, trailer (Métropole Films)