Allusions to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, James Joyce’s The Dead and the John Huston film it inspired, the inimitable silent movie star, Buster Keaton, and the iconic American artist, Edward Hopper, are all part of the mosaic that informs and influences Pedro Almodovar’s latest cinematic triumph, THE ROOM NEXT DOOR.
An adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s What Are You Going Through, THE ROOM NEXT DOOR stars Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton as old friends who reunite in a time of crisis.
It is an erudite, eloquent examination of the experience of cancer diagnosis, treatment and the entitlement of assisted dying and the dignity of life choice when it comes to exiting.
Moore and Swinton are quite superb as two women grappling with life changing decisions and choices. Their performances are so absorbing it comes as quite a shock when two male characters are introduced – John Turturro as an academic who was a former lover of both women and is in utter despair over the state of the globe, and Alessandro Nivola as a flinty cop who sees assisted dying as accomplice to homicide.
THE ROOM NEXT DOOR is a remarkable film. The subject is death, so the end seems inevitable. But the narrative is full of life, and full of surprises, full of everything that matters.
Accompanied by Almodavar’s trademark use of vibrant colours which makes the film a visual feast in both set and costume design thanks to production designer Inbal Weinberg and Academy Award nominated costumier, Bina Daigeler, THE ROOM NEXT DOOR elicits a transcendent experience – expanded, unsettling and filled with hope.
THE ROOM NEXT DOOR is also blessed with a superb score by Oscar nominated Alberto Iglesias, which adds to its allure and lustre.
Poignant, kind, funny, THE ROOM NEXT DOOR is a room worth visiting and dwelling in for its hundred minutes or so duration. It’s also a room you’ll probably want to view more than once.
