The Room Next Door (2024)

The Room Next Door (2024)

Death is a common feature of movies. One could argue that, in broad terms, movies of whatever genre be they thrillers a la Kill Bill or tear-jerkers such as Steel Magnolias, or even some of the more morbid thoughts of Ingmar Bergman is in a way a practiced artificiality of death. But such a point of view is always refreshing when watching a film that does not shy away from death and views it with an eye of unwavering defiance which is all the more effective in the case of El deseo’s Pedro Almodóvar’s poetry The Room Next Door.

Although initially uncomplicated, the plot revolves around two female characters in their sixties who have been friends for years but lost contact a fiction writer with distinctive opinions about the art scene in NYC named Ingrid who is played by Julianne Moore and a journalist for the New York Times who used to travel the world covering wars named Martha who is played by Tilda Swinton who reunite after a long time thanks to the latter’s battle with cancer. The details appear unfavorable it is stage 3 of cervical cancer, and the patient is undergoing an experimental immunotherapy program which as it turns out is essentially her only chance to survive.

Were these feelings perhaps bottled one would imagine such individuals may be prone to not expressing them however, that is not the case with Martha. She is aware that she is on borrowed time and there is a wide acceptance and comfort regarding this which makes her candid and analytical towards such a situation. But that is not to say life is simple for her. It is clear and there is a persistence over many years in many facets of life and they have a deep bond that has not been forgotten even after spending so long apart.

John Turturro’s character a climate-change activist who has dated both women is just one of the numerous additional minor characters. Despite the presence of these other characters, the film essentially revolves around two women with the other focusing solely on the interactions between them.

The film is based on Sigrid Nunez’s contemporary American novel, What Are You Going Through (2020). As a debut directorial in English Almodovar took the liberty to create a highly dialogic piece. Emphatically over roomers, ‘The Room Next Door’ is in no way a satirical O. Almodovar’s soap yet he loves communicating daringly about one’s passions and is not ashamed to flaunt them. There is also room in the main story for identification at the very beginning, Martha recounts her conflict with her daughter, Michelle, a child she raised alone at an early age. This particular conflict is already presented in the form of a flashback to the Vietnam War a mini film Martha is trying to explain how everything happened.

Eduard Grau’s cinematographic touch shines through in The Room Next Door in particular as the characters shift to a stylish upscale vacation home situated in the country close to Woodstock NY. Mostly, however, this is a film centered on the dialogue between Martha and Ingrid regarding death and ultimately, the realization that Martha comes up with what she wants to do about it. She has not, however, give up the wish to live. But she has become sick and tired of fighting the apprehension of death.

Tilda Swinton has really always had a face that is out of this world incredibly pale and tough yet strikingly beautiful, almost like an alien version of David Bowie with a royal appeal such a look that we can’t look away from and know it even better than our own. In The Room Next Door, Tilda Swinton’s face and her dialogue together serve a magnificent purpose of exploration. She delivers a staggering performance comparable to the presence and finesse of Vanessa Redgrave. Her interpretation solidifies Martha as a woman who understands herself, her goals but is also lost in uncharted waters, She doesn’t expect this. Who really does? But she will make that trip and take us along with her.

There comes a time when Martha has had enough. It’s time to be in control of one’s own life and decide when to let it all go. The Room Next Door is not an issues film (though it certainly is pro euthanasia). It is an intricate and understated exploration of the feelings that are inspired by thoughts of self destruction. Martha has a strategy, Hers is rather straightforward except for the fact that it involved acquiring a pill from the internet’s underbelly. And even in this sense, the problem is only beginning. Even as Ingrid and Martha settle in their new upstate house there is a deadline, which brings an element of suspense into the movie. Is there any chance that Ingrid opens her eyes to find the bedroom sink door closed? That’s the code the two have agreed upon for the day on which Martha plans to take her own life. A patient and caring Ingrid (Moore) is able to reassure her friend that she is providing support, which makes her part of the spirituality and ethics equation. Her purpose is to shield Martha from harm, but then again she needs to remain concealed (in order to obey the law).

At 74 years old, Pedro Almodovar is not a Spanish cynical, but still, his films have been increasingly shadowed with themes concerning death. That is why the comedy in them has predominantly been burnt out. I would however posit that this kind of perception has not turned him into a pessimistic figure. The Room Next Door, for instance, is taken over by the scorching emotion of Swinton’s performance in addition to making you feel a sense of uplift and cry. The whole film deals with death but in such an unflinching way, which addresses this topic inspiringly it is very much in favor of the life.

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