Pedro Almodóvar's The Room Next Door serves as the Centerpiece film of the 62nd New York Film Festival. The esteemed honor is for good reason. Almodóvar is an absolute staple of the festival, and with his latest (his 15th appearance at NYFF), he again reminds audiences of how he's never really left. His ability to showcase heightened emotion and melodrama in a realistic way is in full effect here. And of course, it helps to have two elite actresses at the center of it all
We meet Ingrid (Julianne Moore) at a book signing event. Her latest novel attempts to examine her fear of death. As a fellow reader questions whether or not it worked for Ingrid, Almodóvar provides the sense Ingrid is still trying to figure it out. Catharsis isn't something that just happens through a therapeutic process. Sometimes, we just need to live through something directly in order for us to truly examine our feelings. It's at this same event that Ingrid bumps into an old friend, who brings the unfortunate news of their old friend, Martha (Tilda Swinton). Upon visiting her in the hospital, Martha reveals she has terminal cancer, and has decided to forgo further treatment. Such a decision must be a massive undertaking both mentally and emotionally, and as one might expect, Swinton turns in a striking performance. Never overplayed, her expressions reveal a person who, on the surface may seem wholly committed and at peace, yet internally is still grappling with the thought of what she has committed to.
It's in this delicate balance that The Room Next Door operates. Though it's not before Almodóvar serves up some of the delightful melodrama he's been beloved for for decades now. While this may feel like the weaker section of the film when looking at what follows, Almodóvar fans will surely eat it up as the film comes to represent the full scope of a life lived. As Ingrid and Martha reconnect, Martha makes a proposition. She has refused treatment not because she wants to give up, but rather, she wants to choose her final moments with strength and finality. Rather than deal with pain and suffering, she has purchased a euthanasia pill through the dark web. Smartly, Almodóvar doesn't get caught up in the specifics of it all. What matters is the emotional weight of such a decision. All Martha asks is that Ingrid remains in the room next door, to at least have the comfort of knowing what will immediately follow her death.
And so, the two women go to a gorgeous home just outside the city. What essentially follows is a series of ruminations on life and on death. Of course, for as heavy and contemplative as these sequences get, Almodóvar injects plenty of levity and beauty all throughout The Room Next Door. Moore and Swinton share such a rapport, and it's in their delightful chemistry that makes the emotional weight of this film hit that much harder. This is a film about death. But it's also a film about life. These two opposing forces clash for dominance, both trying to stake a claim as the defining force that makes up the time we're given on this planet. Which will we let define us? Much of Almodóvar's work examines the battle between ideas and emotions which feel too large to be delivered monotonously. These are grand, lofty ideas, and they should be treated as such. Despite this not feeling like one of his fastballs, lucky for us, Almodóvar is a filmmaker that relishes in the extravagance of life, and gleans all the beauty it has to offer us.
The Room Next Door celebrated its U.S. Premiere as the Centerpiece film of the 62nd New York Film Festival.