The Room Next Door (2024)

Spain

Drama, Hollywood Movies, English Movies

El Deseo

Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton, John Turturro, Alessandro Nivola, Juan Diego Botto, Raúl Arévalo

Pedro Almodóvar

Pedro Almodóvar

NA

new york city, suicide, based on novel or book, nihilism, war correspondent, female friendship, woodstock, new york, bosnian war (1992-95), bereavement, cancer, writer, novelist, dual role, existentialism, euthanasia, terminal cancer, estranged daughter, autofiction, intense, anecdote

Ingrid and Martha were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. Ingrid went on to become an autofiction novelist while Martha became a war reporter, and they were separated by the circumstances of life. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation.

Reviews:

Author: good.film
Bold as always, Spanish master Pedro Almodóvar elegantly tackles the touchiest of subjects for his first English-language feature. And it's a film that could change your mind about euthanasia. _The Room Next Door_ peels back the very layered onion of the right-to-die movement with an emotional heartbeat that’s truly rewarding to watch. It’s strong, yet wonderfully nuanced; it features two sublime actresses at the very top of their game; and – dare we say it – this so-called tragic drama even has its laugh out loud moments. If this were another drama (or a Hollywood weepie), you might expect Ingrid to plead with Martha to reconsider. Instead, Almodóvar introduces far more interesting thought bubbles. When they begin to have minor disagreements, it feels like small scabs being picked off a much bigger wound. There’s a shadow living with them – an elephant in the room next door, lying in wait to land a crushing blow. _The Room Next Door_’s final act is a thought-provoking look at the right to die, and the uneasy ways this moral argument grinds its cogs alongside the laws we’ve created. Technically, Ingrid commits a felony - but Almodóvar is asking, _did Ingrid do anything wrong?_ With its gentle quality, it’s hard not to take _The Room Next Door_ home with you. Yes, it’s a death-affirming story. And yet by probing the delicacy of our short lifespans – time spent writing about warfare, and painting, and breathing mountain air, and making love – it’s also a deeply life-affirming one. Read our full review at https://good.film/guide/the-room-next-door-could-change-your-mind-about-euthanasia