The Room Next Door: LFF Film Review
Pedro Almodóvar won the Golden Lion for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival in September for his full-length English-language debut The Room Next Door so I naturally had high expectations.
The film, based on Sigrid Nunez’s 2020 novel What Are You Going Through, tells the story of best-selling writer Ingrid (Julianne Moore) and former war correspondent Martha (Tilda Swinton). After years of being out of touch, the former close friends and colleagues reconnect when Martha becomes sick.
My biggest issue with The Room Next Door was its screenplay, written by the Spanish filmmaker. The writing feels artificial, unrealistic and stilted. It didn’t feel like a natural conversation but more like two people talking at each other, almost as if they were in a play. Perhaps Almodóvar was going for melodrama instead of realism but the unnatural writing really bothered me. Ingrid and Martha voice everything that’s on their minds and state obvious things that normal people wouldn’t say. Also, if they really were close friends when they were younger, they should know some of this stuff already.
So it’s a testament to Moore and Swinton that this is still an enjoyable – and surprisingly funny – watch. They wrangle the unnatural writing with aplomb and make it work as much as they can and this results in some interesting conversations. They each have so much dialogue and don’t let this stop them from giving top performances. On a shallow note, I also loved their colourful wardrobes, particularly Moore’s jumpers.
However, the characters still felt rather thin and I came away not knowing them very well, which is a surprise, given how much they talk. Also, there are a couple of flashbacks that were extremely melodramatic and totally unnecessary. The film could have done without those.
The Room Next Door is hindered by its dodgy writing but it’s remarkably still a compelling watch thanks to Moore and Swinton.
Seen at the London Film Festival. In cinemas from Friday 25th October