26/50
Pedro Almodovar’s first feature film in English
Synopsis
Ingrída and Marta were close friends in their youth when they worked together in the same magazine. After years of not communicating, they meet again in an extreme but unusually endearing situation. IMDb editor Arno Kazarian offers snapshots of 12 films he’s showing at the 2024 New York Film Festival, including Anora and the dangerous, oddly erotic Misericordia. ..
Unfortunately, the answer is: it’s disappointing
Featured on The 7PM Project: September 8, 2024 (2024) episode. I was curious to see what Pedro Almodovar would do differently in his first non-Spanish film based on two of the most talented actors of our time. There are many ways to “in the next room” what makes Almodovar’s work so distinctive – the spontaneity, the sense of improvisation, the comic timing, the sparkling ensemble work – is missing, but as I see it, the main flaw of this film is that it is simply overwritten, which is a rarity in his previous works in works. The screenplay (credited to him as the writer) is adapted from a novel by Sigrid Nunez, which I haven’t read, but it sounds like large chunks of dialogue have been removed.
Little is left to our imagination
literally from it, with much that is disturbing and suspenseful, slowing down and exhausting the film, where Almodovar’s work is usually characterized by cute dialogues and frantic forward movement, immersing you in the characters' a world with little exposition – as a viewer, you’re just there, hanging on for dear life and understanding relationships and social context, capturing what you can. Even in movies that deal with dark themes (“Pain and Glory” or “Bad Education” come to mind), the plot and its backstory unfold in a compelling way (even if they’re really crazy when you stop and think about it) that relies on our intuition and empathy and depends only slightly on the extended expository story. Here, it’s the other way around: the characters are constantly talking and explaining, with some odd flashbacks to set the context. So while there are some of the usual Almodovaría hallmarks, notably the sophisticated use of saturated, cleverly coordinated colors and the taste of many sets and costumes (here with lots of beautiful still lifes of flowers and fruit), these are props – they don’t tell a story and make you you have to accept the reality of his crazy artificial visual world as most of his films do.
And the computer-generated backgrounds of New York seem completely artificial and therefore pointless
Almodóvar’s films certainly have plots, often quite complex ones (which is part of the fun), but they don’t feel like they’re plot-driven, even if they are. The Room Next Door, on the other hand, revolves around its plot, and that too weakly. In front of the camera are talents like Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore (as well as the acclaimed John Turturro). to be and experience some great, often very moving moments – how could you not, especially given the plot’s central premise and the way it solidifies and strains a long-standing, close friendship in its final days?
But the expressiveness of this scenario especially undermines Swinton
Her incredible power lies in her strong, enigmatic presence and her understated expression. According to my unscientific testing, she speaks as much dialogue here as she has in her last three or four films (ie the ones I’ve seen). Consider her stunning performances in another relatively recent film about a strained relationship between two women, The Eternal Daughter. (2022), in which he portrays an aging mother and her middle-aged daughter in a devastating manner.