The Venice Film Festival got underway last week, and reactions to some of the highly-anticipated world premieres are starting to arrive.

The Room Next Door is a drama written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar in his English-language full-length debut, and is based on the novel What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez. It stars Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton, John Turturro, and Alessandro Nivola.

In the film, Ingrid, a best-selling writer, rekindles her relationship with her friend Martha, a war journalist with whom she has lost touch for a number of years. The two women immerse themselves in their pasts, sharing memories, anecdotes, art, movies—yet Martha has a request that will test their newly strengthened bond.

The film premiered today at the Venice Film Festival, where it will compete for the Golden Lion, and will launch in US theaters via Sony Pictures Classics in limited release on December 20th, 2024. You can find the release date on our in theaters calendar.

Here are the first reactions out of Venice:

Check out the first US teaser trailer for the film below: