The Women Next Door

Granted, I would watch almost any movie filled with slow, lingering shots of Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton’s exquisite cheekbones. But when it’s a Pedro Alodóvar movie filled with slow, lingering shots of Julianne and Tilda’s exquisite cheekbones, well – say less, as the kids today say. This is also Alodóvar’s first English-language feature. Though anyone familiar with his work knows he is famous for centering women’s internal lives (sometimes, extremely internal – like Vagninal Tours internal). So I’m extremely curious where “The Room Next Door” will take its characters, former colleagues who worked at a magazine together years ago but have since gone their separate ways. Tilda’s Martha is a war correspondent and, if the contextual clues of the trailer are correct, appears to be ill. Julianne’s Ingrid is now a novelist and, if the contextual clues of the trailer are correct, appears to be helping Martha with her illness. There isn’t much more out there about the plot, but the film is based on the novel “What Are You Going Through” by Sigrid Nunez, so if anyone’s read it give us the heads up. As always, my first question will be does anything gay happen. I guess we shall see. Until then, we can dream.