TORONTO (AP) 鈥� Although 鈥淭he Room Next Door鈥� is Tilda Swinton notes that he鈥檚 never written in a language that anyone else truly speaks.
鈥淗e writes in Pedro language, and here he is making another film in another version of Pedro language, which just happens to sound a little bit like English,鈥� Swinton said.
Set in New York, Swinton stars as Martha, a terminally ill woman who chooses to end her life on her own terms. After reconnecting with her friend Ingrid, played by Julianne Moore, Martha persuades her to stay and keep her company before she goes through with her decision.
Beyond the film鈥檚 narrative, Swinton said she believes individuals should have a say in their own living and dying. She acknowledges that she has personally witnessed a friend鈥檚 compassionate departure.
鈥淚n my own life I had the great good fortune to be asked by someone in Martha鈥檚 position to be his Ingrid (Julianne Moore),鈥� Swinton said.
She said that experience shaped her attitude about life and death: 鈥淣ot only my capacity to be witness to other people in that situation, but my own living and my own dying.鈥�
Swinton spoke to The Associated Press about 鈥淭he Room Next Door,鈥� Almod贸var and he idea of letting people die on their own terms. Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.
AP: Tackling that role, what was the challenge to get into the character?
SWINTON: I felt really blessed by the opportunity. So many of us have been in the situation Julianne Moore鈥檚 character finds herself in, being asked to be the witness of someone who is dying. Whether that wanting to orchestrate their own dismount or not, to be in that position to be a witness is something that I鈥檝e been privileged to experience many times in my life since I was quite young.
AP: Many people experience watching terminally ill family members, can this film help them?
SWINTON: It鈥檚 a really beautiful poem to a possibility of an attitude. I think (my character) Martha鈥檚 attitude to her own living is really inspiring. I would like to think that this is a really generous proposal and that it might inspire people to just know that it鈥檚 possible to face their own death with dignity, which is really what we鈥檙e talking about.
It really is a fool鈥檚 errand to think we can avoid thinking about death because it鈥檚 not just unlucky people who get ill or who die. It鈥檚 an inevitability. And so we might as well, you know, embrace it. And by the way, the more we embrace it, I would suggest the more we will enjoy our living.
AP: Your character goes to great extents to alleviate the criminality. Do you think that also shows that that perhaps that there is a place in a society for assisted suicide?
SWINTON: There are many countries in the world where it is not criminal to assist somebody鈥檚 active will to orchestrate their own dying. And in the United States, there are 10 states where it is not criminal, where it鈥檚 possible for two doctors to assist in the active will of a patient to take charge of their own dying. And it鈥檚 there are just other places where and New York State, which is where our film is set, is not one of those 10 states. And there are all sorts of people, very wise and very compassionate people, very educated and very enlightened people, in my view, who are actively campaigning to broaden this acceptance.
AP: You鈥檝e worked with lots of great directors in your career, what was the adjustment to working with Pedro?
SWINTON: I鈥檇 had a taste of it with short film, 鈥淭he Human Voice.鈥� We made it in the middle of COVID. We shot it in nine days. Super, super fast鈥� And I thought that Pedro was working very fast because it was a short film and because we were in the middle of COVID. No, no, that is the way Pedro works. I now discover super, super fast two takes, if you鈥檙e lucky.
AP: Does his style put your performance on an organic path?
SWINTON: I mean, it really helps always when you know the work of a filmmaker as well as it鈥檚 possible to know Pedro鈥檚 work. I鈥檝e known it since I was a student, and I鈥檝e loved it always. It鈥檚 like a country. I love to go to the world of Almod贸var and it鈥檚 not Spain, it鈥檚 somewhere else. It鈥檚 his environment. So, stepping into the frame of a filmmaker who creates that environment is always a bit of a trip.
AP: At Venice, the film resonated with audiences with a very long standing ovation. How validating was that?
SWINTON: It鈥檚 still a bit of a shock to us. When you鈥檙e in an audience, that鈥檚 the first indication of whether the souffle has risen or not. Apparently 18-and-a-half minutes is a record when you鈥檙e standing next to Pedro Almod贸var and you know that that is 18-and-a-half minutes of It pretty much doesn鈥檛 get much better than that.
AP: Is awards season something that you look at when you鈥檙e doing a film like this? When you hear the buzz, is that something that鈥檚 ever on your mind?
SWINTON: Not mine. To be honest, I鈥檓 ignorant really, of that in particular. I have other things on my mind. That鈥檚 like the weather. It鈥檚 like saying, do you have the weather in three months on your mind? Well, no. Let鈥檚 wait and see. Let鈥檚 keep it real. Let鈥檚 keep it today.
John Carucci, The Associated Press
