Julianne Moore. “Life is everywhere and it is the strongest.”

The face of compassion is Julianne Moore’s. She has a gentleness, an intensity, and a humanity that permeate her roles. May Decemberby Todd Haynes, where his character turned out to be less pleasant than expected, pitted against Natalie Portman, who herself ended up being quite toxic. This is another female face-to-face that illuminates The next roomPedro Almodóvar’s first English-language film won the Golden Lion at the last Venice Film Festival. No antagonism here, but unconditional friendship, beyond judgment, between the two heroines: Ingrid, a successful writer (Julianne Moore) and Martha, a former war correspondent (Tilda Swinton).

The latter has terminal cancer and offers this newfound friend to accompany him to the end, to stay in the “next room” when he decides to end the deadly drug he acquired on it. dark web Far from his usual register, Almodovar weaves this existential melodrama with subtlety, sobriety and no pathos. His actresses are remarkable, Tilda Swinton, in the delay, doomed to die with dignity, and especially Julianne Moore in the more complicated parts of the devoted girlfriend who awaits the inevitable. , his benevolent love as the only protection against tribulation.

Women’s company

“I loved working with Tilda Swinton. We didn’t really know each other, but during filming she became more than a colleague, a friend, which created a kind of mirror effect in the film’s story. The next room talks about that: friendship, company, support. Usually in movies we see either conflicted or conflicted characters or romantic characters. Friendship, which is one of the pillars of our existence, a fundamental theme, is not often addressed, especially when it comes to women. Before Pedro’s film, I found myself in another woman’s story. May DecemberBy Todd Haynes, with Natalie Portman. But in this one, the mechanism is completely different, because it is a struggle for power: who holds the keys to the life story, the actress who will interpret it, or the woman who lived it? This is not about control or power, but about compassion, love, transmission and listening; Ingrid, my character, collects Martha’s story, which she will pass on to her daughter.”

Pedro Almodovar

“It’s crazy to tour with Pedro. I never imagined this could ever happen. I’ve admired him since the beginning when he came on the international scene Matador Or Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He is an essential author, a completely original artistic voice. I remember meeting him in the 1990s, at a function in New York. I’ve met him here and there over the years, in Cannes or at fashion shows, where we were invited , that I admire him, I knew that he was a generous director and a lover of actresses. Every time he came to greet me, very carefully. It’s been years since Pedro was announced to direct an English-language film, but each time he seems to back out and the announced projects fall through. And one morning, out of the blue, I got an email saying that he was going to adapt Sigrid Nunez’s book, What are you going through?that the film is in English and that he thought of me for the role of Ingrid. I was in shock. »

Touring with Pedro is absolutely crazy, I’ve been in awe of him since the beginning

Julianne Moore

The filming

“The film can also be seen as a kind of fairy tale, death is hidden throughout the story, but not only that. There is elevation and poetry. Even in his first English-language film, Pedro stayed very close to his European world. This is the characteristic of great authors. they understand the world in their own way. We feel it immediately in its sensibility, of course, but also in its cinematography, artistic direction, composition, colors, music and even language, which is not entirely American. There is a different rhythm and musicality here. We shot most of the film in Madrid, and Pedro’s New York is not really New York, but his idea of ​​New York. What we see through the windows of Tilda’s character doesn’t exist in Manhattan, but it doesn’t matter to her. Moreover, Pedro looks at his actors in a way that few filmmakers look at them. It probably doesn’t change our game , but it certainly enhances it. Me and Tilda, he shot us in close-ups a lot. He wanted the story to be read on our faces, our eyes, our lips. This makes the film more exciting, I think…”

Female directors

“Pedro Almodovar, like Todd Haynes, puts women at the heart of the story. They are not focused on their gender. They are interested in women and this makes them their favorite heroines and tell us about them in a different way.Pedro was a little boy who listened to his mother a lot. He hid under the kitchen table and did not miss a word of his mother’s conversations with neighbors or friends. These stories probably stayed in his head forever and formed a part of him. Todd would say the same about his mother…”

Hollywood

“It’s not because there are more women’s stories out there that Hollywood is necessarily changing. Also, it’s hard to talk about Hollywood as an entity, I don’t see it that way. There are a thousand ways to approach a film. And then, like, none May December neither The next room were not seen as commercial films. When you think about Hollywood, you think about the market, and there’s nothing wrong with thinking that way. A lot of movies are made with profit in mind. Sometimes the lines get blurred; i think for example evilwhich is a wonderful movie, a box office hit that I loved. I’ve seen the musical it’s based on three times and my daughter has seen it seven times. It’s certainly a film with commercial potential, but it’s also a feminist and activist film in its own way. It proves that women’s stories can be profitable, and It’s gratifying, but there’s still a long way to go. We women represent 52% of the world’s population and continue to be underrepresented.

Trump

“I don’t want to raise it. I don’t want him to take my speaking place. That’s how I feel.”

Inspiration

“I don’t know if I really have any role models… Only when I was seriously thinking about being an actress did I feel admiration. Meryl (Streep), obviously. But also Sissy Spacek, Vanessa Redgrave, or my friend Isabelle Hooper.” They are extraordinary actresses whom I love to watch in the cinema. I especially like European actresses. They radiate a humanity that belongs only to them. In so-called commercial cinema, we sometimes tend to focus on glamor. As a result, things don’t always look real. We have the impression that they can we had touched them. They are real people with the utmost beauty, that’s how I felt when I discovered them Without a roof or lawBy Agnes Varda. I was amazed. This realism resonated with me. I’d really like to tour France. I’m very sensitive to the cinema of Justine Trier and Audrey Divan.

Euthanasia

“It is quite an emotional topic. It is difficult to take a stand. There is a reality of death that is inevitable, and as we grow old, the experience of others, our own death, is significant. However, it remains unacceptable. I remember in my 20s when the AIDS epidemic hit my generation. I lost a lot of friends at a young age. It was a terrible shock. In the United States, euthanasia laws vary by state. In New York, where I live, it is It is not a sanctioned, nor an assisted suicide. In Pedro’s film, Tilda’s character suffers so much that she can no longer enjoy anything, that nothing can relieve her, neither reading, nor music, nor even conversation. The film makes you think about all this. And at the same time, it is by no means a depressing film. It is also a celebration of life. This is why Tilda and I wear make-up, do our hair and wear brightly colored clothes in the movie. In the rented house in the forest, there are flowers and fruits everywhere that heighten the senses, reminding us that life is everywhere and that it is the strongest. In Venice, where he won the Golden Lion, Pedro was often asked about death and old age. He kept replying that every day gained is a victory…

the next room by Pedro Almodovar, in theaters January 8, 2025.