Out gay filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar’s new film, “The Room Next Door,” opening Jan. 10 in Philadelphia, is his first feature in English. He adapted Sigrid Nunez’s novel, “What Are You Going Through” about Ingrid (Juliane Moore), a writer in New York City, who reconnects with her old friend Martha (Tilda Swinton), whom she has not seen in decades. Ingrid soon learns that Martha is dying from Stage 3 cervical cancer. The film is an empathetic and well-acted chamber drama about understanding and accepting death, which also happens to be the subject of Ingrid’s latest book.
Almodóvar focuses largely on the friendship between Ingrid and Martha, but he does include flashbacks, queer characters and his trademark red throughout the film. The shift from Spanish to English is less jarring than the film’s didacticism — some might say the dialogue is “literary” — as Ingrid asks Martha, “Do you remember?…” and launches into a story that benefits the audience more than the characters.
Yet, this is a minor quibble given how comfortable Moore and Swinton are in their roles. The two Oscar winners feel natural as they discuss the gaps in their lives since they last saw each other, and their conversations are compelling. A story about Martha, a war correspondent, meeting the lover of her gay photographer (Juan Diego Botto) is sweet but perhaps unnecessary. More significant is Martha talking about her poor relationship with her daughter, Michelle (Esther McGregor). Martha kept Michelle’s father’s identity secret from her daughter and while she felt it was the right decision, she also feels as if she was a bad mother. Ingrid is understanding and reassuring as the story of Michelle’s father Fred (Alex Høgh Andersen) is recounted in flashback, letting Ingrid and viewers appreciate Martha’s difficult decision.
Ingrid, deliberately does not tell Martha the whole truth about her relationship with Damian (John Turturro), a man both women loved, separately, back when they first knew each other. The reasons for Ingrid’s secrecy are valid, but this withholding also reveals something about Ingrid’s character.
The central storyline of “The Room Next Door” pivots on Martha asking something extraordinary of Ingrid. While the experimental treatments for her cancer initially exceeded expectations, the current cycle is not working, and Martha has decided to end her treatment. She has procured a “euthanasia pill” on the dark web and wants Ingrid to accompany her to a house she rented in Woodstock so she can end her life. This request takes Ingrid aback and she considers it seriously before agreeing. Ingrid is also told to explain that she knew nothing of Martha’s plan if asked by the police, to avoid the legal issues around assisted suicide.
Almodóvar is certainly interested in presenting the morality around the topic, but he mostly lets Moore express those concerns as Ingrid consults discretely with Damian about the situation (Damian offers to arrange for a lawyer if/when Ingrid needs one). But most of “The Room Next Door” addresses how Martha plans to live her last moments — no, she will not have time to read that book she wanted to, but she can still savor eating a strawberry. Ingrid’s responses to such moments are heartfelt and convey the seriousness of the situation. Thankfully, these episodes are more subtle than preachy. Almodóvar does not overemphasize the issue or play up the melodrama (nor do things descend into camp.) Instead, there are beautiful scenes of the two women lying in bed, with their faces overlapping. Other shots of them staring out a window, with a landscape or cityscape reflecting over them provide thoughtful scenes that allow viewers to absorb and process what the characters are thinking and feeling.
Both actresses give superb performances. Julianne Moore captures Ingrid’s efforts to tiptoe around the elephant in the room, and a scene where she talks with Jonah (Alvise Rigo), a trainer at a gym she attends, is terrific. Ingrid can talk honestly about her feelings without disclosing the whole truth. And an episode where Ingrid experiences despair is palpable.
As Martha, Tilda Swinton has an ethereal presence that is wholly suitable to her character. She appears “washed out” at times, and Almodóvar even fades out on Swinton’s face to underscore her ephemeral nature. A scene of Martha dressed in a white gown also has a deliberately ghostly quality to it. But Swinton is steely as she expresses Martha’s bravery and talks about cancer being “a fight,” selling her response, “Cancer can’t get me if I get it first.”
“The Room Next Door” is moving because Almodóvar invites viewers into the lives of these characters and Moore and Swinton make such an ingratiating pair. Their friendship is believable. The film never cudgels viewers with its stance on assisted suicide. The topic is used to show how these friends bond under difficult circumstances.
While the drama lacks some of the stylistic verve and emotional depth of the director’s Spanish films, “The Room Next Door” is still a solid film that benefits from Almodóvar’s compassion and admiration for women.