20/21

They both had Julianne Moore in mind

Ingrid and Martha were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. After years of not being in touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation. When Pedro Almodóvar sent the script to Tilda Swinton, he asked her who should play Ingrid.

Featured in The 7PM Project: Episode 8 September 2024 (2024)

Successful writer "Ingrid"; (Julianne Moore) is signing some 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 looking so good and in the following days the two begin to grow closer, sharing trusts and becoming quite interdependent. When an experimental treatment fails, former war reporter "Martha"; makes a rather bold proposal to her friend, who will ask her to retreat to a quiet residence in Woodstock, where she will take matters into her own hands.

I won't say I loved the presentation or the style

Initially quite wary of this plan, "Ingrid" must decide whether or not she wants to help - with all the moral and legal ramifications that entails, so she turns to both women's ex-boyfriend, "Damian"; (John Turturro) for advice as she wrestles with her conscience. The concept here is really quite amazing, especially in light of the revived conversations here in the UK about the rights of the terminally ill to make their own choices without fear of those they leave behind being persecuted by either the law or the zealots, but I can... Far too much of the dialogue between the two women seems geared more towards filling in for the audience than building rapport with them.

Indeed, the whole thing deals with some serious emotional issues in a remarkably sterile way

The things they should have known about each other are presented in a way that is too sterile, and at times I wondered if there wasn't a fair amount of dubbing. Both actors deliver strongly, but their dynamic is unconvincing - well, it wasn't for me, and the excess verbiage rather stifles the emotional impact the film could have had. Alex Høgh Andersen sheds his Viking skin to briefly remind us of the horrors of the Vietnam War, but otherwise this is largely due to the two characters facing a scenario we all dread but don't very convincingly. https://indocoffeenetwork.com/2024/12/08/hard-truths-2024-web-ac3-torrent/