43/24
After many years apart, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation
Story
Ingrid and Marta were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. When Pedro Almodóvar sent the script to Tilda Swinton, he asked who should play Ingrid.
Both referred to Julianne Moore
Aired on The 7PM Project: Episode 8 September 2024 (2024). Successful writer “Ingrid” (Julianne Moore) signs several books when one of her friends informs her that her old friend “Martha” (Tilda Swinton) is suffering from cancer.
After visiting her in the hospital, she discovers that things are not going so well and, in the following days, the two begin to grow closer, sharing secrets and becoming quite dependent on each other
When experimental treatment fails, former military reporter “Martha” makes a rather bold proposal to her girlfriend that will require them to retreat to a quiet Woodstock residence where she will take matters into her own hands. Initially quite wary of the plan, “Ingrid” must decide whether or not to help – with all the moral and legal implications that entails – and so she turns to both women’s ex-boyfriend “Damian” (John Turturro) for advice, struggling with her conscience.
Much of the dialogue between the two women seems more geared toward filling the audience in than establishing a relationship between them
The concept here is clear enough, especially in the world of renewed debate here in the UK about the rights of terminally ill people to make their own choices without fear of those they leave behind being persecuted by the law or fanatics, but I can’t say I liked the presentation or the style. What they need to know about each other is presented in a very sterile way, and at times I wondered if there wasn’t enough voice acting here, too.
In fact, it all deals with some serious emotional issues in a surprisingly sterile way
Both actors are strong, but their dynamic doesn’t quite convince – well, not for me, and the excess verbiage takes away from the emotional impact the film could have. Alex Heg Andersen sheds his Viking skin to briefly remind us of the horrors of the Vietnam War, but otherwise it’s mostly about two characters dealing with a scenario we all dread, but not very convincingly.