The Room Next Door Review: Death, Friendship, Melodrama
Theatrical Movie Review - Drama
End-of-life conversations are always difficult. We live in a culture that is often uncomfortable with death, so there is a tendency to shy away from discussions about how someone might deal with a terminal illness. In his first full-length English-language film, The Room Next Door, writer and director Pedro Almodóvar examines how one of these conversations might go.
Shortly after Ingrid (Julianne Moore) publishes a book about death, she gets a call from an old writer friend, Martha (Tilda Swinton). The two worked together at a magazine when they were younger but haven’t spoken in years. They plan to get together, and Martha explains to Ingrid that she has cancer. The doctors are optimistic about her treatment, and while she tries to share that optimism, it is eventually revealed that her cancer cannot be treated, and she is going to die.
Martha doesn’t want to waste away and asks Ingrid to join her for a trip during which she will take a pill that will end her life. Martha will leave her door open, and when Ingrid finds it closed, it will mean that Martha is no longer there. All Martha wants is to not be alone during her final days but rather to have a good friend there to share this passage with her.
The Room Next Door uses the poetic language one expects from an Almodóvar film, and several lovely phrases pepper the movie. However, this can also lead to a kind of melodrama that, coupled with an overbearing score from Alberto Iglesias, makes the film feel almost absurd at times.
What saves this film from fully descending into a full “after-school special” are the excellent performances from both Moore and Swinton. The two are able to provide so much heart to these characters that we can connect with the emotions that both are feeling throughout the film. Thanks to Moore, we are brought into the fear and discomfort of the loss of a friend. She beautifully allows us access to that mindset. Swinton, on the other hand, gives us a glimpse of what it is to want to choose how and when you die, particularly when so much choice has been taken from you due to a disease. And I would be remiss not to mention John Turturro, who has a small yet powerful role as a romantic partner to each woman.
This is also an absolutely beautiful film. Almodóvar uses color and lighting to draw us into this world. With so many films using desaturated color palettes, it is wonderful to watch a movie that revels in beauty.
The melodrama of The Room Next Door kept it from fully resonating with me, but even so, I appreciate the willingness to tackle this subject. Themes about friendship, fear, and control as they relate to death can be taboo, and it’s admirable to see them addressed with beauty and compassion.
This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on January 19, 2025.