...The Room Next Door is perhaps [Pedro Almodovar’s] most inspirational film that talks about the power of positivity in the bleakest of times, of holding on to that one open window when all the doors appear to be getting closed.

| May 13, 2025

The Spanish director's latest film is packed with cinematic references and homages, but it's not just cinema: it's a subversive story of friendship and communion.[Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 30, 2025

Almodovar is known for his wonderful wackiness, his camp sensibilities and his deep appreciation of over-the-top melodrama. None of which is in evidence here. Even Almodovar’s visual panache has been muted as if intimidated by the grim subject matter.

| Original Score: C+ | Apr 29, 2025

'The Room Next Door' talks about a friendship rekindled by the two main female characters, which becomes a relationship similar to romantic love, but without love’s inconveniences. The film also leaves us with thoughts about death and dying...

| Apr 25, 2025

Does being able to die at one’s own hand at the moment one chooses really seem the most pressing issue in America or the world today?

| Apr 24, 2025

The Room Next Door wrestles with life’s most difficult questions in a gently moving and profound manner, and is as elegantly directed and acted as we’d expect from this level of elite talent.

| Apr 21, 2025

Few contemporary filmmakers are as attentive to the radiance of light and color, shape, the glow of light in and on women’s eyes. <i>The Room Next Door</i> is a world of primary colors, of patches and blocks of red and green, bold Hockney-style splashes.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Feb 13, 2025

There is a cultural divide that doesn't quite translate in the way they talk to each other, but after about a half an hour, you go with it.

| Feb 11, 2025

It is quite lovely in all the ways a Pedro Almodóvar movie can be. Striking and strange.

| Feb 11, 2025

An ordinary story elevated by the acting talents of Moore and Swinton.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Feb 6, 2025

Failing to make a lasting, thought-provoking impression, The Room Next Door still has power, but not as much as it should. Blame the restrained aesthetics, light approach, and occasional conversational inelasticity.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 2, 2025

In Spain, despite religious opposition, assisted suicide is accepted while - in the U.S. - the right to die is controversial. Euthanasia is legal in only 10 states & Washington, D.C. so Pedro Almodovar's bittersweet film is visually sumptuous & spectral.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Feb 2, 2025

This is not a film for everyone, but it shows that dying does not always have to be dark and that filmmakers like Almodovar can even find positivity and hope in sadness.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Jan 24, 2025

There have been extraordinary films in recent years about end-of-life issues....Almodóvar’s somewhat mannered take might not rank with the very best, but blessed with excellent performances...it’s a worthwhile addition to those on this difficult subject.

| Original Score: B | Jan 23, 2025

This philosophically and emotionally rich film summons feelings and thoughts that occur late at night or under trying circumstances; Why? For what? To what end? It beautifully asks and answers those questions and more.

| Jan 23, 2025

The serious topic bypasses those thriving on fast-paced visuals, but—aided by sensitive work from his fabulous stars—Almodóvar reaches that universal observation about the basics of life.

Full Review | Jan 22, 2025

The Room Next Door is a gorgeously constructed dialogue about a life well-lived, as well as being a poetic ode to life after death.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jan 21, 2025

With two powerhouse performances and a reminder that the ever-looming shadow of death is our most potent mandate to embrace life, The Room Next Door is a stirring triumph.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 20, 2025

In spite of their capable performances, the film’s most notable shortcoming is that it lacks the passion that exudes from Almodóvar’s previous pictures.

| Jan 20, 2025

There’s drama and sadness in the subject matter, of course, but that’s not a free pass to manipulate and bore. At worst, that’s offensive; at best, it’s precious time poorly spent.

| Original Score: C- | Jan 19, 2025