The master of Spanish cinema Pedro Almodóvar returns with La Chambre d'à Côté, a poignant drama starring two major actresses, Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. The director, known for his emotionally rich works such as All About My Mother and La Mauvaise éducation, this time adapts the novel What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez. The film is an exploration of the complex relationship between two women who have been friends for many years, and who reunite after years apart. With an impressive cast that also includes John Turturro and Alessandro Nivola, La Chambre d'à Côté promises to offer intense reflection on human relationships, while retaining Almodóvar's unique visual touch.
La Chambre d'à Côté will open in theaters on January 8, 2025.
Synopsis: Long-time friends Ingrid and Martha began their careers at the same magazine. When Ingrid becomes a best-selling novelist and Martha a war reporter, their paths diverge. But years later, their paths cross again in troubling circumstances...
Pedro Almodóvar's latest film, The RoomNext Door, marks an ambitious step in the Spanish director's career. Awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival 2024, this drama explores universal themes such as friendship, illness and the right to die with dignity. Played by two cinema icons, Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, the film follows in Almodóvar's intimate vein, with a theatrical touch that is much debated. While the film has been praised for its performances and carefully-crafted aesthetics, certain narrative and formal choices have left some viewers wanting more.
Martha(Tilda Swinton), a war reporter with terminal cancer, reunites with her longtime friend, Ingrid(Julianne Moore), a novelist specializing in autofiction. Ingrid is a woman haunted by her visceral fear of death, which she explores in her latest book. Paradoxically, it is she, so ill-prepared to face the end of life, who agrees to accompany Martha in her final moments. This dynamic, marked by apprehension, reluctance but above all deep love, forms the emotional core of the film.
Visually, Pedro Almodóvar delivers a work of great richness. Martha's apartment, bathed in light, is adorned with colorful canvases reminiscent of the works of contemporary masters. These vibrant touches contrast with Ingrid's apartment, decorated with antique furniture found at flea markets, demonstrating her taste for objects with a story behind them. Finally, the climax of the film takes place in a magnificent isolated house in the middle of nature, where Martha chooses to end her life. The house, with its huge terrace and deckchairs offering an unobstructed view of a soothing forest, becomes a place of quietude and introspection, sublimated by meticulous art direction .
Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore deliver technically flawless performances , but their acting sometimes seems too distant. While their characters go through heartbreaking situations, a certain emotional coldness prevents the viewer from fully feeling their pain. Dialogue is often overplayed, and the actresses address the camera directly, breaking the fourth wall in a process that destabilizes more than it touches.
This explanatory narration weakens the emotional impact. The characters recall their shared past by recounting events they have experienced together, giving the impression that they are speaking more to the audience than to themselves. This choice, while justifiable from a theatrical perspective, hinders immersion and limits the empathy felt for their dilemmas.
Powerful lines such as "Dying people should have the right to die with dignity" or "The world is absurd and inhuman" sound more like theatrical statements than moments of authentic dialogue. This approach, while bold, contributes to the impression that the staging is a little too intellectualized.
The subject of euthanasia and the right to die with dignity remains as relevant as ever. Pedro Almodóvar treats this issue with sincerity, but sometimes adopts a nostalgic prism that clashes with the burning topicality of the debate. Certain scenes, such as the one in which Martha recounts having acquired a euthanasia capsule on the dark web via a mathematician, verge on the absurd and weaken the credibility of the plot. These details tarnish a story that would have deserved a more grounded approach.
This film will appeal above all to lovers of auteur cinema, sensitive to existential themes and intimate reflections on friendship and death. Viewers who appreciate introspective works, where emotion is born of silences and glances, will also find something to their liking. Those who like Pedro Almodóvar's work, with its impeccable art direction and chiselled dialogue, will be seduced by this plunge into the intimacy of two women confronted with the inescapable. However, viewers in search of a fluid narrative or raw emotion may be put off by the film's theatrical, distanced aspect.
All in all, La Chambre d'à côté is a divisive work. While Pedro Almodóvar once again demonstrates his mastery of visual codes and his ability to tackle universal themes, the film suffers from an excess of theatricality and dialogue that rings hollow. Despite laudable intentions and renowned actresses, emotion struggles to break through, leaving the viewer admiring but distant.
La Chambre d'à côté will appeal to fans of introspective cinema, thanks to its reflection on ethical issues and its meticulous aesthetics. However, the film's overly rigid direction and narrative clumsiness risk alienating some of its audience.
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