By John Corrado

The first English-language feature from Spanish master Pedro Almodóvar, The Room Next Door is an involving and morally complex – if occasionally uneven – melodrama, built around a pair of compelling performances from Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton.

The film (which was awarded the Golden Lion at Venice) opens with Moore’s Ingrid, a popular author, at the signing for her latest book. A woman from her past comes up to the table, and informs her that their mutual friend Martha (Swinton), a former war correspondent, has terminal cancer.

Ingrid feels compelled to reconnect with Martha after years of not being in touch, and so begins a rekindled friendship between the two women, who previously worked together at a New York magazine.

Much of Almodóvar’s film, which he adapted from the Sigrid Nunez novel What Are You Going Through, focuses on the bond between these women. They reconnect sharing stories from the past, and grapple with questions of life and death. They have a mutual appreciation for the arts, from literature to classic cinema, and even share an ex-partner in Damian (John Turturro), a lecturer whom they both had relationships with in the past. But there also comes to be an unspeakable agreement between them.

Despite being his first feature in English, following the two short films The Human Voice and Strange Way of Life, The Room Next Door bears many of the recognizable hallmarks of Almodóvar’s work. The popping colours are on full display, right from the opening shot of Moore with her red lipstick in sharp contrast to her bright blue blazer. In true Almodóvar fashion, the use of colours throughout Eduard Grau’s beautiful cinematography, as well as in the costuming choices and production design, is quite striking. The score by frequent collaborator Alberto Iglesias is also lovely.

Some of the film’s issues lie in the script. There is occasionally some clunky dialogue that feels lost in translation from Almodóvar’s usual Spanish language. The story itself can also feel heavy-handed at times, particularly in the final sequences. There is a challenging and complex moral dilemma about end of life choices at the centre of it, but it’s easy to wish that the film ultimately treated it more as one. This is especially true in an extended scene featuring Alessandro Nivola, that somewhat frustratingly erases a lot of the earlier ambiguity to take more of an overt political stance.

That said, it is possible to admire much of The Room Next Door, namely the two performances at its centre, while also finding it incredibly sad, and not entirely agreeing with its ultimate moral judgement. The film mainly works as another crisp showcase for Almodóvar as cinematic stylist, as he once again explores the complex relationships between women. Moore and Swinton both deliver excellent work, crafting a believable bond between these characters. The heightened drama of the situation brings out strong emotions, and adds an element of suspense to the film that is sustained for much of it.

Film Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)

The Room Next Door opens exclusively in theatres in limited release on January 10th. It’s being distributed in Canada by Mongrel Media.