Tilda Swinton film sparks euthanasia debate

When it comes to the line-up of the 81st Venice Film Festival, there aren't many directors launching films who are as acclaimed as Pedro Almodóvar.

Almodóvar has never been one to shy away from controversial topics. The Spanish director is famed for his approach to celebrating unconventional family structures, sexuality and emotionally complex, female-centred stories.

His filmography has scored the director a cult following in both cinephile circles and around family dinner tables.

His latest film, The Room Next Door, which premiered here at the Venice Film Festival this week is no exception, delving into one of the last taboos in modern society: euthanasia.

But it differs from any of his previous films, in that this is his first made in the English language.

Adapted from Sigrid Nunez’s novel What Are You Going Through, the film follows two women, played by Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore.

Swinton portrays a woman choosing to end her life on her terms, while Moore’s character, her long-time friend, wrestles with the emotional toll of supporting such a decision.

The film doesn’t force a stoic view of death. Almodóvar invites viewers not just to witness just the philosophical debate around assisted suicide, but to experience the full spectrum of intimate, messy emotions that come with facing the end of life - fear, anxiety, regret, and grief.

So, what inspired Almodóvar to take on such a sensitive and controversial topic as euthanasia?

At the film festival, the director explained the film was a medium to communicate his firm belief that euthanasia should be available “all over the world”.

Euthanasia has been legal in Spain since 2021, under a new law which allows adults with "serious and incurable" diseases that cause "unbearable suffering" to choose to end their lives.

Almodovar told journalists: “It should be possible to have all over the world. It should be regulated; the opinion of the doctor should suffice.”

Debates around legalising assisted suicide remain contentious in the UK, illustrated by the high-profile case of Noel Conway, who suffered from Motor Neurone Disease and took his campaign for the right to the Supreme Court in 2018.

He campaigned for a doctor to be allowed to prescribe a lethal dose when his health deteriorated, but the current law means any doctor who did so risked 14 years in prison.

He brought a legal challenge against the ban to the Supreme Court in 2018 but lost the appeal and died at home in 2021.

Almodóvar advocates for people such as Conway's right to reclaim autonomy over their last moments, as depicted in the film.

He explained: "This is not a film about death - it’s about life, about the freedom to decide what kind of life we want to live until the very end."

Tilda Swinton echoed this, calling the film “a celebration of control and autonomy,” while Julianne Moore added: “It’s about being there for someone in their most vulnerable moment.”

• What do assisted dying, assisted suicide and euthanasia mean and what is the law?

The film is also a medium by which Almodóvar can express his anxieties around climate change. This is embodied by the character of Damian, played by John Turturro, an author who gives nihilistic lectures on the topic, much to the chagrin of those around them.

At the film festival, Almodóvar told the press the film centres around “the state of the planet and the state of people.” He explained: “You have to be able to be the owner of your own experience.”

Swinton concurred: “I think of this film as, in the first case, a love story between Ingrid and Martha… and also about evolution whether talking about war, climate catastrophe.

"There is faith in the film in the necessity and inevitability of evolution wherever it takes us.”

At the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival, The Room Next Door received a whopping 18-minute standing ovation with Almodovar making the unconventional decision to descend into the crowd to join the applause.

The response from critics, too has been broadly positive. The Guardian's Xan Brooks called the film a "lovely, mordant, tender affair".

Variety's Owen Gleiberman praised Swinton’s "monumental" performance.

However, others were less complimentary. The Telegraph's Robbie Collin awarded the film just two stars, calling it "a clunky disappointment" and adding that "the roles feel desperately unchallenging for both actresses".

Despite this, The Room Next Door is poised to be one of the most talked-about films of awards season, sparking important conversations about life, death, and the right to choose.

As Almodóvar said at the Venice premiere: “We all have a room next door, a place where we will eventually face ourselves and our lives. My hope is that this film gives people permission to talk about that room, even if it’s a little uncomfortable.”