Actress to whom he entrusts here the role of Martha, a former war reporter suffering from incurable cancer. In her hospital room, she receives a visit from an old long-lost friend, Ingrid (Julianne Moore). They worked together for a magazine, then Martha left to travel the world and Ingrid became a successful writer. Shortly after their reunion, Martha makes a disturbing request to Ingrid. She rented a villa in the middle of the woods and would like her friend to accompany her on this last trip. She will have nothing to do except keep him company while waiting for the end.
As in Pain and glory (2019) illness is omnipresent, death more precisely, which Pedro Almodovar opposes to life, embodied by Ingrid and this forest. It is certainly not the most joyful film by the Spanish filmmaker. We knew him lighter. The room next door is also less extravagant, softer than his usual feature films.
So there is a twilight but peaceful side. Which is not to say that it lacks depth or richness. The room next door talks about death, how to welcome it and how to get through tragedies. The intersecting portraits of these two friends are nourished by their discussions: life assessment and regrets, comforting words, fears about the future of a world which seems to be collapsing.
We find the director’s obsessions: the past which holds him prisoner, the female characters but also the use of vibrant colors. However, it is never garish, neither in the staging nor in the words. Pedro Almodovar films Martha’s end of life and Ingrid’s wait in the next room with modesty. He embraces his anxieties, invites us to immerse ourselves in intimate reflections which animate all human beings. We come away moved, obviously, but without any feeling of unease. This Golden Lion therefore has the qualities of a drama which tinges with poetry a reality that is difficult to face.
