Reel Review: The Room Next Door Explores Grief and Honoring One’s Final Wishes
Ingrid (Julianne Moore) and Martha (Tilda Swinton) are life long friends who met while working together at Paper magazine. After growing older and apart, the two rekindle their friendship when Martha is diagnosed with cancer. Ingrid becomes a pillar of Martha’s support system and helps her to honor her final wishes.
At the top of the film we meet Ingrid as she is signing copies of her newly published book when she is surprised by a friend. This brief and chance encounter leads to Ingrid finding out about Martha’s cancer diagnosis. From the start, Ingrid is framed as a very empathetic person as she tells her manager that she will stay at the book signing until everyone has a chance, even running past the scheduled time. Though she hasn’t seen Martha in years, Ingrid goes to visit her in the hospital with no hesitation.
Ingrid and Martha begin to rekindle their friendship through long talks at the hospital as Martha goes through her treatment. The two reminisce of their lives working at the magazine together, Martha recounts her tumultuous relationship with her daughter’s father, and they dive into their other friends and what they have been up to. This seemingly innocent and warm dynamic takes a turn when Martha makes a request of Ingrid that she doesn’t know she can fulfill.
Martha asks if Ingrid would be in the room next door when she decides to end her life. Martha refuses to live on through countless treatments when she knows they will whittle her down to nothing when she already has little left. Making peace with the idea that she is ready to leave this earth, she requests that Ingrid be the support system to comfort her in her final days and hours. Ingrid is initially extremely hesitant and doesn’t want to support someone in this endeavor in fear of loosing her and being blamed for her death. This act of the movie is where Julianne Moore shines the brightest, she is subtly hesitant yet empathetic. Her emotions are deeply complex yet easy to read.
Once Ingrid agrees to be there for Martha, the two friends travel to a beautiful home two hours outside of New York City as vacation and final destination. The two are able to play off of each other in such a real and intense way. Certain lines of dialogue feel forced or uncomfortable which initially comes off as cringey, but ultimately dive into the idea that no one is comfortable around death. Even though Martha has accepted her fate, she feels the need to drone on about her life and experiences as one last attempt of making sense of her purpose on earth. Ingrid internalizes the guilt she has for allowing Martha to do this to herself, while also trying to honor her wishes and savor every last moment she has with her friend.
Ultimately, Martha passes while sitting on a lawn chair while Ingrid is out to lunch with a friend. Ingrid calls the police and reports the death as a suicide which she is later questioned about. Though the police believe that Ingrid was involved, they have no proof and are forced to let her go. The ethics of assisted suicide are heavily debated but it is incredible difficult to look at something in this situation and not empathize with both characters. There is something so important and powerful about supporting someone in their final moments as they with and putting your own feelings aside. While The Room Next Door can feel drawn out and boring at times, it is an incredibly powerful piece of work about the decisions one faces at the end of their life.
The Room Next Door is playing in theaters now.
