‘The Room Next Door’ REVIEW: A Somber Tragicomedy
‘The Room Next Door’ REVIEW: A Somber Tragicomedy
Martha (Tilda Swinton) and Ingrid (Julianne Moore) having a conversation. Note the use of strong colors of its furniture in its Almodóvarian fashion | Still taken from Pathé and Iglesias Màs
Pedro Almodóvar is no stranger to his stylishly lavish melodramas like All About My Mother (Todo sobre y madre), Volver, Julieta, and Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria). Almodóvar is known for his heavy use of interior design in his productions, in which its furniture and kitchen arrangements tell the story of the characters residing in these dwellings.
The Room Next Door is Almodóvar’s English-language full-length feature debut after The Human Voice (also starring Tilda Swinton) and Strange Way of Life (starring Pedro Pascal and Antonio Banderas), based on the novel What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez. The film opens with the title card with the Rizzoli Bookstore à la You've Got Mail. Alberto Iglesias’ score provided a sombre start to the film, which sustained throughout until the end. While the score kept its consistency, the plot was something that may surprise the audience.
Close friends, Martha, a war correspondent and a journalist, and Ingrid, also a journalist, albeit in the art world and a novelist, crossed their paths again in a chance encounter at the Rizzoli bookstore. As a fan of wars and adrenaline, Martha had seen wars in her entire life as a journalist working for The New York Times. Ingrid, meanwhile, became a novelist. Both had successful careers but went onto very different trajectories.
Upon their reunion, the gaze between Martha (played by Tilda Swinton) and Ingrid (played by Julianne Moore) is something that the audience may begin to wonder about. Are they in a secret relationship of sorts? We’ll guess it on our own anyway. Crossing paths again, Martha faces a terminal illness of cancer and has a desire to die in peace. Ingrid, well, she is scared of death.
Martha (Tilda Swinton) and Ingrid (Julianne Moore) | Still taken from Pathé and El Deseo
Almodóvar explores the concept of peaceful death through the use of euthanasia, exploring the emotion involved in the process. While the discussion of euthanasia remains controversial, he uses euthanasia as the main object of the story while still making it subtle.
In this usual Almodóvarian production, the film is set in New York City, but the provincial landscapes, which can stand for upstate New York, feels distinctively Spain. Still shot in Spain well, at least the majority of it. Like in most of Almodóvar's films, interior design plays a key role in the development of the characters. For example, Ingrid said that her apartment has a lot of furnished stuff from the garbage, signifying Ingrid’s hip and quirky personality. And the contemporary manor somewhere in the outskirts of upstate New York provides a major plot point of peaceful death, which is reflected in its sleek, muted, interiors with mid-century furniture as accents.
Plotwise, it seemed directionless, with the burning house scene played by Fred (Alex Høgh Andersen) and his wife (Victoria Luengo) adding little to the plot. It could have conferred context, while the central women in this story felt like they’re going round circles of cynicism, anticipation, hope and purpose.
Martha (Tilda Swinton) in the few seconds of her life | Still taken from Pathé and El Deseo
If this film was shot in the Philippines, maybe in Baguio or Tagaytay, one could cast Angel Aquino as Ingrid and Jodi Sta. Maria as Martha. Martha can be an anik-anik collector, amplifying her maximalist desires while Ingrid can be your supportive tita friend who frequently hangs at Mary Grace or Mom & Tina’s while listening to your rants. Overall, despite the sombre nature of the film, there is a room full of comedic moments. I unexpectedly expected this to be a form of comedy.
In conclusion, The Room Next Door feels like a conversation therapy with elements of a stage play. While the film feels almost hollow and directionless with all of the talk, which sometimes felt like a long form furniture commercial, more like gazing through their first world problems, the actresses Swinton and Moore, however, both delivered their roles in their best.
Maybe I should get into Bergman soon?
The Room Next Door was part of QCinema 2024’s lineup as part of the Screen International program.
