The Room Next Door: Friendship And The Inevitability Of Death
Image: Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton
The Room Next Door is a 2024 Spanish drama written and directed by Pedro Almodovar in his powerful English-language full-length debut.
Interest and admiration are evoked in a remarkable and powerfully irresistible way in this poignant drama which at times feels like a cinematic cancer awareness campaign.
Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton portray Ingrid and Martha respectively, two women who once were best friends and worked at the same magazine. Ingrid is an established author who has just released a book about death and Martha was a war journalist. They lost touch for 15 years, but the universe has brought them back together under less than joyous circumstances.
Martha has inoperable grade 3 cervical cancer and is on an experimental treatment which is not working.
“I should never have given in to false hope” she tells Ingrid.
The first half of the movie is a slow burner as we learn about the lives of both women. Martha is estranged from her daughter. “I don’t feel like she’s my daughter – I’m not the mother I’m supposed to be!”
The mood then changes when Martha asks Ingrid to share a rented house with her, living in the room next to hers. The story quickly takes another turn when Martha asks Ingrid to help her die by taking a deadly pill she bought on the dark web, “Cancer can’t get me if I get me first!” she announces.
Ingrid is terrified at the prospect of helping her friend die. Is she obligated to be there and commit what would obviously be a crime in the eyes of the law? Should people have the right to end their suffering and die with dignity?
Both actresses are well cast in this touching and beautifully acted performance driven drama concerning a rekindled bittersweet friendship. They both deserve much accolade – notably best actress nominations at the Oscars.
There are some humorous moments in what is predominantly a depressing movie. Some audiences may find it difficult to connect emotionally to the characters as the story seemed like it was building to an unpredictable finale where perhaps Martha may have had a sinister ulterior motive for inviting Ingrid to share the room next door.
Friendship, hope, and acceptance of the inevitability of death are themes which resonate strongly throughout.
The Room Next Door is a movie that should perform well in art house cinemas. It’s simplistic and the story expansion is limited which works in its favour as this compounds to the three most significant elements in the story – friendship and the fear and behavioural changes brought upon by cancer.
The following piece of dialogue may leave audiences pondering on its validity.
“See cancer as a fight. If you survive, you’re a hero – if you die, you didn’t fight hard enough…”
****
In Cinemas Boxing Day
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