Pedro Almodóvar's The Room Next Door, starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, tackles a controversial topic: euthanasia.
In Almodóvar's first English-language feature film, the film stars Oscar winners Ingrid (Moore) and Martha (Swinton), who were best friends in their youth when they both worked at the same magazine. Years apart, they reunite when Martha is diagnosed with a terminal illness and decides to commit suicide.
During the film's press conference at the Venice Film Festival on Monday, the Spanish director spoke passionately about the subject matter in the film and why he believes it should be an option for those facing the same fate.
“This film is in favor of euthanasia,” says the director, speaking in Spanish. “It’s something we admire about Tilda’s character, who decides that getting rid of cancer can only happen by making the decision she already makes. She says, ‘If I get there before then, cancer won’t beat me.’ So she finds a way to achieve her goal with the help of her friend, but they have to act like criminals.”
Almodóvar's home country of Spain legalized euthanasia in 2021, and he believes the rest of the world should follow suit.
“There must be the possibility of practicing euthanasia in different parts of the world. It must be regulated and allow the doctor to help his patient,” he said to applause from journalists.
Although the film is clearly about death, stars Moore and Swinton highlight the ways in which the film also celebrates life.
“There is a tremendous life force in Pedro’s films, and that’s what we all respond to,” Moore said. “It’s like hearing everyone’s heartbeat while you’re watching these films.”
She spoke about the existential themes the film addresses, saying that it contemplates the following questions: “What does it mean to be alive? What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to have a body? What does it mean to have a friend? What does it mean to have a witness?”
Swinton described the film as a “love story” between her character and Moore's.
“It's really a love story between Ingrid and Martha. And when I say love, I mean that really basic thing, that basic friendship that's at the heart of all love, hopefully.”
The Room Next Door is Almodóvar's follow-up to his 2021 film Parallel Mothers , which also premiered in Venice and won the festival's Volpi Cup for Best Actress for Penélope Cruz's performance. Almodóvar's previous projects that premiered in Venice also include 1983's Dark Habits ; 1988's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown , which won Best Screenplay ; and his 2020 short film The Human Voice starring Swinton. He received the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
Following its Venice premiere, “The Room Next Door” is set to open in theaters on December 20 from Sony Pictures Classics.
