Review: The Room Next Door

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Official synopsis: Ingrid (Julianne Moore) and Martha (Tilda Swinton) were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation.

Director Pedro Almodóvar's first feature length film in English came and went without a lot of fanfare. Until I saw it as an option to watch on my recent flight, I had completely forgotten it had been released already. 

Not only was this a surprise reminder, but it completely blew me away. I love this film, and I think I told every single one of my coworkers that they NEED to watch it on their flights home. This story is about death. About fearing it and accepting it, but it's also about friendship and how strong those bonds can be, even when you spent time apart and it was just so easy for me to fall in love with Ingrid and Martha.

While there are some awkward moments between them, most of their time together is just so achingly beautiful. It will make you think what you would do if your friend put you in the position that Martha puts Ingrid. 

Almodóvar's signature use of bold colors are here, as are the emotions, but this feels like a very restrained and solemn version of him, and I loved it. I understand the criticisms that some of the dialogue is stilted. I agree with that sentiment, but I just enjoyed listening to it too much to care.

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Comments

  1. BirgitMay 7, 2025 at 1:47 PM

    I'd love to see this. It's our da so real.

    ReplyDelete
  2. thevoid99May 7, 2025 at 2:26 PM

    This I need to see though it's this, Parallel Mothers, and the 2 English-language short films of his that I need to see to catch up on his work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMay 9, 2025 at 7:59 AM

      Parallel Mothers is so good! That was my favorite of his until I saw this

      Delete

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