| The Room Next Door | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Spanish | La habitación de al lado |
| Directed by | Pedro Almodóvar |
| Written by | Pedro Almodóvar |
| Based on | What Are You Going Through bySigrid Nunez |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Edu Grau |
| Edited by | Teresa Font |
| Music by | Alberto Iglesias |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 107 minutes[1] |
| Country | Spain |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $21.5 million[2][3] |
The Room Next Door (Spanish:La habitación de al lado) is a 2024 Spanishdrama film written and directed byPedro Almodóvar, in his English-language feature debut, based on the 2020 novelWhat Are You Going Through bySigrid Nunez.[4]Tilda Swinton andJulianne Moore star withJohn Turturro andAlessandro Nivola in supporting roles. The plot follows the relationship between two close friends (Swinton and Moore) as the former faces the prospect ofending her life due to terminal illness.
The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the81st Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2024, where it won theGolden Lion, a first for a Spanish film.[5] It was released theatrically in Spain on 18 October 2024 byWarner Bros. Pictures. It won threeGoyas (Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score) at the39th Goya Awards.
Ingrid is a successful author who learns that Martha, a friend with whom she once worked at the same magazine, has terminal cancer. They reconnect at the Manhattan hospital where Martha is being treated, and Martha tells Ingrid her life story. In the 1970s, Martha became impregnated by Fred, a young man she had met in college. Fred left to fight in theVietnam War, returning withPTSD. Fred later left and remarried, leaving Martha's daughter Michelle to constantly ask her mother about Fred's whereabouts as she grew up. Wanting to appease her daughter, Martha reached out to Fred's wife, who informed her that Fred had died trying to save a nonexistent person whose voices hehallucinated from a house fire. Michelle grew resentful of her mother and became estranged. In the present day, Martha has no family, and reveals to Ingrid that she recently boughteuthanasia pills so that she could secretly end her life.
Ingrid, though conflicted at first, ultimately comes to terms with Martha's plan and agrees to stay with her during her final moments in a rented country house inWoodstock, New York. Martha tells Ingrid that she will know of her death when her door is closed the following morning. One day, Ingrid wakes up to find Martha's door closed, but quickly discovers that Martha is still alive. Martha tells Ingrid, who is upset by the fear she experienced, that she had opened a window, allowing a breeze to close the door, and adds that the incident could be seen as a practice run for when she truly dies. Despite Martha's explanation, Ingrid remains irritated by the unsettling episode.
Ingrid has lunch with fellow writer Damian, who was once both her and Martha's shared lover and is aware of Martha's plan. He helps hire a lawyer Ingrid can depend on for defense against the police after Martha dies. Ingrid returns home to find Martha dead on a lounge chair outside, with her bedroom door closed. She finds a note from Martha thanking her and asking her to contact Michelle. Ingrid informs the police, and a religious fundamentalist officer questions her claim that she was unaware of Martha's suicide plans. He reveals that they know Martha had asked another friend to join her before she asked Ingrid. Ingrid leaves the interrogation and contacts Damian and the lawyer.
Ingrid gets in touch with Michelle and invites her to the house where Martha died. They lie together on the lounge chairs outside as it snows.
Almodóvar talked about plans to shoot an English-language film set inNew York City on the eve of his trip to the2023 Cannes Film Festival.[9] The titleThe Room Next Door was advertised in late 2023.[10] In January 2024,El Deseo announced thatJulianne Moore andTilda Swinton had been cast in the lead roles withJohn Turturro as another cast member.[11] Swinton described the film as "a natural successor, strangely, toPain and Glory".[12] The film is an El Deseo production with the participation ofMovistar Plus+.[13] Filming began on 3 March 2024 inMadrid.[14]Alessandro Nivola joined the cast that same month.[15] Shooting locations also included New York City.[16] On 12 June 2024,Juan Diego Botto,Raúl Arévalo,Melina Matthews, andVictoria Luengo were announced as additional cast members.[17]Edu Grau was the film's cinematographer.[18]
Before filming began, Almodóvar's recurring North American distributorSony Pictures Classics picked up rights to the film in North America, the Middle East, India, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.[19]
The film was released in cinemas in Spain on 18 October 2024 byWarner Bros. Pictures.[20][21] Warner Bros. also acquired distribution rights for the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the Nordics, Central and Eastern Europe (excluding Poland), Latin America, and some territories in Asia-Pacific, including Japan.[22] It will be made available onMovistar Plus+ in Spain after its theatrical window.[23]
In July 2024, the film was reportedly likely to premiere at the81st Venice International Film Festival;[24] that release was confirmed a week later when the film was announced to be premiering in competition.[25]Alberto Barbera reported that the film was premiering during the festival's second half.[26] The film was also selected for screenings at the2024 Toronto International Film Festival for its North American premiere,[27] and the72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival as a 'Donostia Award' screening,[28] as well as for the Centerpiece selection of the62nd New York Film Festival at theAlice Tully Hall on 4 October 2024 (for its U.S. premiere).[4]
The film made it to the 'World Cinema' strand of theMAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024 for its South Asian premiere on 19 October 2024.[29] It was scheduled to open in New York City and Los Angeles on 20 December 2024 by Sony Pictures Classics, followed by a limited release in select US cities on Christmas Day, and a January 2025 wide US release.[30] In the United States, it is Almodovar's first ever film rated for a general audience; theMPA gave it a PG-13 rating for “thematic content, strong language, and some sexual references” (all his previous films had been rated R, NC-17, or unrated with admission limited to adults only).[31]Pathé released the film in French theatres on 8 January 2025.[32]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 81% of 190 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "Anchored by a pair of terrific performances swathed in vivid colors, Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar's English-language feature debut attests to his universal fluency in provocative filmmaking."[33]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[34]
Stephanie Zacharek ofTime wrote that "if it's possible to make a joyful movie about death, Almodóvar has just done it".[35]
Owen Gleiberman ofVariety assessed that Swinton "gives a monumental performance", "worthy of comparison to the spirit and virtuosity ofVanessa Redgrave".[36]
Robbie Collin ofThe Daily Telegraph lamented that the result of Almodóvar's anglophone feature debut is "depressingly thin".[37]
Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, finding it "as extravagant and engrossing and doggedly mysterious as anything [Almodóvar] has done recently".[38] Also reviewing forThe Guardian, Wendy Ide rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as feeling "emotionally empty".[39]
Monica Castillo ofRogerEbert.com rated the film 3 out of 4 stars, declaring it "a heartfelt meditation on friendship, grief, and death".[6]
