An introduction to The Room Next Door
Notes from an introduction to The Room Next Door (Almodóvar 2024) by Beth Ripper at our screening in August 2025. Our audience gave this film 3.4 stars.
The Room Next Door is the first English language film by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar (All About My Mother, Bad Education). The story is based on Sigrid Nunez’s 2020 novel What Are You Going Through. The lead actors are Julianne Moore (Ingrid) and Tilda Swinton (Martha).
Ingrid and Martha became close friends while working together at the same magazine. After years of being out of touch – Ingrid a writer and Martha a war correspondent, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation. It’s hard to say more without spoiling the film.
Many of us would like to think we’re a good friend to the people in our lives. We’re ready to meet up for a cup of coffee, catch-up dinners, send heart felt messages when needed or be willing to help a friend move house or send a much-needed meal in a time of grief. Everything Ingrid does in this movie comes from a place of love in trying to support her ailing friend. But in The Room Next Door, the answer of how far you would go for a friend is put to the test.
These are difficult questions - although being set in America, with its the conservative political and religious context, the film could be seen as indulgent and set in a context of privilege. Contrast the film’s images of the American health system with the images that are burned into our brains from COVID times. There are also legal implications for those left behind in the film’s scenario, which I’m sure we will talk about later.
It is a beautifully shot film in both the lush green of nature around the beautiful forest house and in the popping colour in the images of a life in New York City - to be expected from this director.
The reviews of this film on Rotten Tomatoes are extreme in their diversity. We look forward to seeing your vote and the conversation over washing the dishes after the showing tonight - or come along to the café on Saturday to unpack your passionate response to tonight’s film. Enjoy!
Further reading
The Room Next Door review – Almodóvar’s English-language debut is extravagant and engrossing - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 23 Oct 2024
Review: The Room Next Door - Katie Carter, Katie at the Movies, 17 Nov 2024
Review: Death and Nonsense in The Room Next Door - Tiia Kelly, Rough Cut, 23 Dec 2024
Behind The Room Next Door: Ingrid and Martha come alive (video about costume, hair and makeup) - Sony Pictures Classics, 24 Dec 2024
Almodóvar's world of colours in The Room Next Door - Polina, Polina in Cinema, 6 Jan 2025