Death is as real as life and when one's lucky enough to see it approach with some time to spare, it can help to focus one's attention on what truly matters, like friendship. This is the basis upon which Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar builds his latest creation, The Room Next Door. Known for his complex and thought-provoking narratives, it is unsurprising that Almodóvar chose mortality as the theme for his first feature-length English-language movie. Starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, the indie drama debuted at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, winning the Golden Lion award. The Room Next Door will open in US theaters this winter and ahead of its arrival comes a new trailer.

Adapted from the novel titled What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez, The Room Next Door is written and directed by Almodóvar. The story centers on two aged best friends, Ingrid (Moore) and Martha (Swinton), who have just recently reconnected "in an extreme but strangely sweet situation." Both were close friends during their youth when they worked together for the same magazine. However, eventually, life happened, and they parted ways with Ingrid going on to work as an autofiction novelist while Martha led a career as a war reporter.

When we meet the two friends in the trailer, they are driving together towards a cabin in the woods. Martha appears sickly, and it seems she's been diagnosed with a terminal illness with a gloomy prognosis. Though she seems to be taking it quite well, she's heard saying; "I will not go out in mortifying anguish." To fulfill this dying wish she asks for Ingrid's help and while she hesitates, she eventually agrees to do what will come bearing legal consequences. "I'll sleep with my door open, and the day that you find it closed, it's the day that it's already happened," Martha says referring to her dying day. The rest of the trailer shows the two spending time together both in and outdoors as Martha continues to wait for death.

'The Room Next Door' Could Be Tilda Swinton's Final Movie

Regarded as one of the greatest actors of the modern era, Tilda Swinton has left her mark on cinema with an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and 3 Golden Globe nominations to crown her success. With decades of performance under her belt, Swinton has come to the point where she's beginning to consider retirement. In a recent interview with Elle where she discussed her role in The Room Next Door, the actress hinted at a tentative retirement, saying:

“I’ve always intended that each film would be my final one. It was not wanting to jinx anything because I have had such fun from start to finish. I always thought, ‘Well, that’s a good one to go out on. Let’s just quit while we’re ahead.’ And I feel it today. I feel The Room Next Door is the last film I make. Let’s see if anything else happens.”

Swinton also addressed the movie's subject, adding: “The feeling of powerlessness that we have to engage with around mortality, or, by the way, around aging. We have to get with the program. We are powerless. And that in and of itself is a sort of taboo. But being powerless in the face of mortality or aging is grace. It’s life.”

The Room Next Door additionally features Alessandro Nivola, John Turturro, Alex H?gh Andersen, Melina Matthews, Juan Diego Botto, Victoria Luengo, and Esther McGregor.

The Room Next Door will open in US theaters on December 20th, 2024. Check out the trailer above.