WIN! Double in-season passes to see Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘The Room Next Door’

The release of any new Almodóvar movie is an event in itself. Throw the fact that The Room Next Door is his first ever English-language feature and film-goers might be even more curious and excited. Ensure the film’s two key actresses are each brilliant and iconic in their own right and you might want to start bandying about ‘Oscar-worthy’.

‘The Room Next Door’ really is a great film, facing dark subject matter such as death and euthanasia, risk and illegality in equal measure.

Best-selling author Ingrid (Julianne Moore) makes contact with her old friend, war-correspondent Martha (Tilda Swinton) who is ill with cancer. Ingrid is terrified of death, as she writes about in her books. But as one of her oldest friends, Martha comes to her with a difficult request. Odd, since they haven’t seen each other in years. But Ingrid agrees and soon realises she’s bitten more off than she can chew.

Anchored by a pair of terrific performances from Moore and Swinton (in fact there’s hardly any other players in this film) and swathed in vivid colour and detail (most especially Almodóvar’s trademark red), the Latin director’s debut English-language feature attests to his universal fluency in provocative filmmaking.

Everything from the settings to the costumes to the mise en scène is purposefully placed, working together wonderfully to tell a delicate but crucial story. But it is the dialogue of film that is most important and, being pretty much a two-hander throughout, the script alone plays out superlatively well, with a surprise twist in the end, of course.

Antonino Tati

‘The Room Next Door’ is in cinemas Boxing Day.

See the trailer here:

COMPETITION!

We have five double inseason passes to give away. To try winning a double pass, simply ensure you’ve Liked our Facebook post about this competition and tag a friend beneath the post. Competition closes 5pm AWST, Thursday 26th December, 2024 with physical passes being sent out to winners on Friday 27th December so as these can be enjoyed throughout the rest of the film’s season.