Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton captivated the Venice Film Festival on Monday evening, stealing the spotlight with the glamorous premiere of Pedro Almodóvar's masterpiece, "The Room Next Door." As the film concluded, it elicited a thunderous standing ovation that stretched for an impressive 17 minutes, marking the longest such accolade of the 2024 festival thus far.
Upon the film's triumphant finale, the Spanish auteur affectionately kissed the cheeks of both Swinton and Moore, triumphantly raising their arms in a gesture akin to victorious boxers. Amidst the relentless applause, Almodóvar descended the stairs, accompanied by his new muses, extending the celebration by warmly shaking hands with adoring fans in the packed theater. Dressed in a resplendent white Chanel suit, Swinton embraced Moore, who shone in a shimmering golden gown, her eyes misty with emotion as Almodóvar, clad in a cotton-candy pink ensemble, basked in the adoration, with the crowd chanting his name in unison.
Throughout the rapturous applause, Almodóvar seemed to personally acknowledge each fan in the Sala Grande, waving and clapping along as Moore clung to his arm. As the ovation began to taper off, around the 14-minute mark, Almodóvar reignited the energy, sprinting back down the stairs from the balcony to sign autographs and pose for selfies with fans, much to the amusement of Moore and Swinton, who chuckled as they timed their graceful exit from the theater.
"The Room Next Door" has already surpassed the standing ovations of other festival highlights, including Brady Corbet's "The Brutalist" (12 minutes), Pablo Larrain's "Maria" starring Angelina Jolie (eight minutes), and Justin Kurzel's crime thriller "The Order" (seven minutes), featuring Jude Law. This English-language debut from Almodóvar premiered on a night when the suffocating heat that had defined the festival briefly relented, allowing Moore and Swinton to hold hands and pose for photographers amidst a light drizzle on the red carpet.
The film showcases the talents of these two Oscar winners as Ingrid (Moore), a bestselling novelist, and Martha (Swinton), her former friend and colleague from their shared days at a New York magazine, who reconnect as Martha grapples with the final stages of cancer. Despite being set in a new city, "The Room Next Door" is imbued with Almodóvar's signature plot twists, though the vibrant, impeccably lit apartments of the protagonists seem more suited to Madrid than Manhattan.
Moore's Venice Film Festival history is rich, with notable appearances for films like "Short Cuts" (1993), which won the Best Ensemble Award; "Far From Heaven" (2002), earning her the Best Actress prize; "A Single Man" (2009), directed by fashion icon Tom Ford; "Suburbicon" (2017), directed by George Clooney; and serving as jury president in 2022. Swinton, too, holds a special place in Venice's heart, having won Best Actress in 1991 for "Edward II" and attending the festival alongside Moore for the premiere of "I Am Love" in 2009. In 2020, she was honored with the festival's Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
"The Room Next Door" follows Almodóvar's critically acclaimed "Parallel Mothers" (2021), which also premiered at Venice and garnered Penelope Cruz the Best Actress Volpi Cup. His other Venice premieres include "Dark Habits" (1983), "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" (1988), winner of the Best Screenplay Award, and the 2020 short film "The Human Voice," starring Swinton. In 2019, Almodóvar was awarded the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award.
After its triumphant Venice premiere, "The Room Next Door" will grace theaters worldwide on December 20, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.
