As painful as it can be for everyone involved, death is inevitable. You might be able to delay its arrival, but ultimately, death comes for all of us, and we will all leave someone behind to grieve our passing. Grieving is even more complex than death itself, but there are several ways you can keep someone’s memory alive.
L-R: Tilda Swinton as Martha and Julianne Moore as Ingrid in THE ROOM NEXT DOOR. Photo Credit: Iglesias Más. © El Deseo. Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
While we’re talking about death, it seems relevant to mention the recent passing of legendary filmmaker David Lynch (Mulholland Drive), who had unique thoughts about death. In an interview, Lynch said, “No one really dies, they just drop their physical body, and we’ll all meet again, like the song says. It’s sad, but it’s not devastating if you think like that. Otherwise, I don’t see how anybody could ever, once they see someone die, that they’d just disappear forever and that’s what we’re all bound to do. I’m sorry but it just doesn’t make any sense. It’s a continuum, and we’re all going to be fine at the end of the story.” Maybe death would be a little bit easier to process if we all approached it like David Lynch.
L-R: Julianne Moore as Ingrid and Tilda Swinton as Martha in THE ROOM NEXT DOOR. Photo Credit: Iglesias Más. © El Deseo. Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Celebrated director Pedro Almodóvar’s (Parallel Mothers) first English language feature film, The Room Next Door, beautifully alludes to the fact we all live on in some way while also painting an extraordinary portrait of a life well-lived. The film stars Tilda Swinton (Okja) as Martha and Julianne Moore (Boogie Nights) as Ingrid, two women who became friends many years ago while working at the same magazine. Despite the fact the two women had not seen each other in a few years, when Ingrid learns that Martha is in the hospital battling cervical cancer, she rushes to her side. The women resume their close friendship as if they had never lost touch, and Martha shares stories about her life, eventually confiding in Ingrid her plans for her death.
L-R: Julianne Moore as Ingrid and John Turturro as Damian in THE ROOM NEXT DOOR. Photo Credit: Eduard “Edu” Grau. © El Deseo. Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Almodóvar, who is well-known for Spanish films like Bad Education (2004) and The Skin I Live In (2011), effortlessly and elegantly tells his first story in the English language in The Room Next Door. The precise, exhilarating use of bright colors in certain scenes, like in Martha’s apartment, represents the vibrancy of life and all its beauty. Tilda Swinton gives a magnificent, honest performance as she portrays Martha as she comes to terms with her cancer diagnosis, and as a war journalist through flashbacks when she tells Ingrid stories about her life. When Martha realizes her cancer treatment isn’t working, she makes the difficult but personal decision to end her life by taking a euthanasia pill she acquired online, but she doesn’t want to do it alone. Ingrid agonizes over Martha’s request for her to be present when she ends her life, in the room next door. The story is thought-provoking and engaging, inviting a conversation about our ability to end our lives on our own terms, as well as what we leave behind when we die. Hauntingly, Swinton also stars as Martha’s estranged daughter, who spends some time with Ingrid after her mother’s passing. This new, unexpected relationship also helps Ingrid cope with Martha’s death, as well as her decision to assist her friend in leaving this Earth.
L-R: Tilda Swinton as Martha and Julianne Moore as Ingrid in THE ROOM NEXT DOOR. Photo Credit: Iglesias Más. © El Deseo. Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Fantastic performances from Swinton and Moore as two old friends reminiscing about their lives and discussing what comes after we die, are the highlights of the film. The Room Next Door is a gorgeously constructed dialogue about a life well-lived, as well as being a poetic ode to life after death.
In select theaters January 17th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Sony Pictures Classics The Room Next Door webpage.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.
Share this:
Categories: Films To Watch, In Theaters, Recommendation, Reviews
Leave a Reply