Cinema from the Spectrum

The Room Next Door is the first English-language feature directed by the revered Spanish Academy Award-winning auteur Pedro Almodóvar. Whether one likes his films or not, there’s no denying how adventurous he is, especially as he explores many moral transgressions within his films and thus one would only wonder how well do these sensibilities translate into the English language. To say the least, you’re watching a far more toned down version of what you would know Pedro Almodóvar for. Yet his more conventional work still remains very thoroughly compelling.

Ingrid (Julianne Moore) is an established author who fears death so much to the point of writing a book about it. But in her past, she was a journalist alongside fellow writer Martha (Tilda Swinton), who was a war correspondent – and the two of them have been good friends since then. After the two of them haven’t seen each other in a long time, Ingrid receives a call from Martha upon which she discloses that she is terminally ill and does not have long left to live. As Ingrid takes the opportunity to give Martha a sense of comfort in what would become her final moments, she also finds herself reckoning with her own mortality and expects Martha to provide something in turn for her companionship.

Given the sort of films that Pedro Almodóvar has become famous for, whether they be dark slapstick comedies like Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown or complex portraits of womanhood like All About My Mother, it’s easy enough to point back to a specific mode within which he works best. The Room Next Door, being Almodóvar’s first film in the English language, feels like the Spanish auteur trying to adapt his sensibilities so as to allow audiences a more mellow entry point into his work. This is fine, yet ultimately it would end up feeling more conventional than the works for which he had become renowned for. That is not a bad thing, for The Room Next Door is still very beautifully effective at its best.

Tilda Swinton has always remained an enthralling screen presence, and this is not her first collaboration with Pedro Almodóvar either. But together with Julianne Moore, it feels that one can only sense that Almodóvar has always directed women with such sensitivity, owing back to his love of classic cinema and its melodramatic tendencies. And yet, the emotions always feel real, which is the most important thing about the experience underneath. Almodóvar brings out a career high point for Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore especially, but that’s also not to discount John Turturro’s supporting turn either – especially as everyone here is shown to be navigating through a difficult situation regarding mortality.

Almodóvar has never been a stranger to morally transgressive subject matter, let alone pushing the boundaries for what we deem socially acceptable within art. But even in exploring these transgressions there’s still a layer of introspection present, with regards to how the world around these characters is formed. Unfortunately, such diatribes present in The Room Next Door only end up feeling very distracting – particularly from John Turturro’s end, and its many tonal shifts. There’s a part of me that thinks Almodóvar wants to assert himself through this material, but it never fully comes through as the source material is in part holding him back.

At its most effective, The Room Next Door is very shattering. It’s a very powerful film all about how people reckon with their own mortality, especially when death is something that they fear so much through their life. But it’s also a movie about how people confront those fears, which I think makes the dynamic between Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore so deeply affecting. I don’t quite think that this film ranks among the best of Pedro Almodóvar’s work, but traces of the Spanish auteur at his very best do remain intact, and it’s where The Room Next Door hits the perfect notes. It’s a perfect showcase for Almodóvar’s actors more than anything, but even Almodóvar at his most conventional still feels compelling.

Watch the trailer right here.

All images via Sony Pictures Classics.

Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Screenplay by Pedro Almodóvar, based on the novel What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez
Produced by Agustin Almodóvar, Esther García
Starring Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Alessandro Nivola
Premiere Date: September 2, 2024 (Venice)
Running Time: 106 minutes