Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore’s characters in auteur Pedro Almodóvar’s new film The Room Next Door couldn’t be more different. Swinton’s character is a former war journalist dying of cancer. Moore’s character, Ingrid, is the one who gets roped into helping during the final days of her life. So, for the film’s Paris premiere last night, it was only natural that the Oscar winners would capitalize on those character differences with their red carpet looks.
Swinton, dressed in her favorite Chanel, brought the drama in an all-black top and matching pants. Both of the actress’s pieces were adorned with elegant tulle. Moore, for her part, stood out next to Swinton in a minimalist bridal white number from The Row. Her gown featured Grecian-esque draping along the neckline and a slight ruffle at the skirt. Moore complimented her dress with Ana Khouri jewels and Manolo Blahnik heels.
Now, Swinton and Moore’s outfits weren’t necessarily of the method dressing variety (though Moore’s character does wear lots of Bottega Veneta in the film as she does in real life). But they did key in on the differences between their own styles and the quirks of their The Room Next Door characters, too.
Swinton and Moore have been receiving rave reviews for their performances, with the former earning a Golden Globe nomination in the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture category. She is nominated alongside Kate Winslet, Fernanda Torres, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, and Pamela Anderson. During a recent interview with W, Almodóvar discussed working with the two Hollywood legends and his inspiration behind the film which is loosely based on Sigrid Nunez’s 2019 novel, What Are You Going Through. It is the director’s full-length English-language feature debut.
“Tilda is so physically special, I wanted someone completely different for Ingrid, so Julianne was perfect,” he said. “I think of mortality almost every day. It’s something that I’m very concerned about. I ask myself, how many movies will I do? I’d like to keep on making movies the rest of my life. So, how many years are ahead of me?”
As for what’s next? “I would love to work with Zendaya. She’s a great actress who has been underestimated,” he teased.
