Julianne Moore had a great experience filming ‘The Room Next Door’ along with her co-star, Tilda Swinton. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 2. Directed by Pedro Almodóvar, this movie is the Spanish filmmaker’s first venture into English films.
‘The Room Next Door’ is a comedy that focuses on promoting euthanasia. Two estranged friends, Ingrid and Martha, meet again after years. Martha is soon diagnosed with terminal illness. However, she does not wait for the cold, dreaded hands of death and decides to take control of her mortality. Julianne and Swinton play Ingrid and Martha respectively. In a recent interview, Julianne opened up about her appreciation of Almodóvar’s work and her thoughts on the message of the film.
Julianne Moore Loved Ingrid-Martha Duo In ‘The Room Next Door’
‘The Room Next Door‘ revolves around Ingrid helping Martha to euthanize herself. In a press conference after the premiere, director Pedro Almodóvar stated in Spanish, “This movie is in favor of euthanasia.”
Julianne also spoke in admiration of Almodóvar. “There’s such a tremendous life force in Pedro’s movies, and that’s what we all respond to. It’s almost like, when you’re watching these movies, you can hear everybody’s heartbeat,” she said.
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The ‘May December‘ actress stated her pairing with Tilda worked beautifully. “It’s really a love story between Ingrid and Martha. And when I say love, I mean that really essential thing, that essential friendship that is at the heart of all love, hopefully,” she said.
She continued, “It felt special to us too, to me and Tilda, just day to day. How our relationship grew, how we got to know each other, the confidences that we shared, the things that we spoke about.”
Julianne Moore Relates The Existential Theme Of The Film
Director Pedro Almodóvar has tried to bring out the necessity of euthanasia in the film. The practice became legal in Spain in 2021. Revealing how he tried to portray the perspective of terminally ill patients like Martha, he said, “If I get there before, cancer will not win over me,’ she says. And so she finds a way to reach her objective with the help of her friend, but they have to behave as if they were criminals.”
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However, Tilda seemed conflicted on the concept of euthanasia. The ‘Constantine‘ actor stated she would not have acted the same way as Martha did. “I personally am not frightened of death, nor have I ever been,” she stated. The actor has made her peace with the impending doom, “I know it’s coming. I feel it coming, I see it coming.”
Meanwhile, Julianne talked about how the film makes viewers question humanity and mortality. She encouraged viewers to ask, “What does it mean to be alive? What does it mean to be a human being? What does it mean to have a body? What does it mean to have a friend? What does it mean to have a witness?”
