In his latest film, ‘The Room Next Door‘ (2024), Pedro Almodóvar faces Death. Many of the great filmmakers have done it: Fellini, Bergman, Haneke, Kurosawa, Hitchcock. Some earlier, others towards the end of their careers and lives, Hitchcock in every one of his films. It is the first feature film that Almodóvar has made outside of Spain, and this seems to have intrigued and shocked many of his admirers. However, unlike other filmmakers who, upon arriving in America, have adapted their style to the demands of the American film market, I believe that Almodóvar manages to remain himself and with ‘The Room Next Door‘, he makes an American film, but is continuing the themes that have preoccupied him throughout his entire career and is benefiting from the presence of two wonderful actresses. In a way, ‘The Room Next Door‘ brings together the best of two very different cinematic worlds. Besides, we don’t have to fear a remake, do we?
Ingrid and Martha are old friends, they shared a lot in their youth, including a boyfriend. Ingrid is a successful writer who has just published a book about death. Martha, who became a war reporter, is dying, sick with an incurable cancer that leaves her a few months to live, prolonged with experimental treatments. Martha decides to abandon the treatments and die how and when she decides. She just wants not to be alone in her last moments, to have someone in the next room. No other friend agrees to be with her, her daughter with whom she has a complicated relationship cannot even be taken into consideration. Ingrid accepts. The two friends will spend Martha’s last weeks, last days, in a luxurious villa, somewhere in the mountains of the northeastern United States. Weeks, days, hours, moments full of suffering, friendship, meaning, confrontation with Death.
Yes, it’s an American film. That’s how Almodóvar thought of it, as an American film, not as a Spanish film transported to the United States. What’s wrong with that, as long as it’s a wonderful film, with compelling characters, with situations that some of us have gone through or will go through someday, because destiny doesn’t ask for permission? Pedro Almodóvar not only moves the story to America, but also uses a book written by Sigrid Nunez as the starting point for the script. The dialogues are natural and profound. Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore are formidable. The roles seem to be written for them. Almodóvar proves once again to be a profound connoisseur of female psychology. The visual aesthetics and color palette are 100% Almodóvar. Every frame is a work of art. I would not discuss the issue of euthanasia. Each viewer is entitled to their own opinion. Those who have not faced such extreme situations cannot judge. In the end, we are not the same after viewing this film. Death seems to not be so scary anymore.