There’s something rather ironic in Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn describing Warren Adler‘s novel The War of the Roses as “Terrifying, black-humored, black-hearted and bristling,” something that many would liken to her own works. She isn’t wrong, and she would certainly know a thing or two about detailing the deterioration of a once-loving marriage, but the latest filmic adaptation of Adler’s work, Jay Roach‘s ensemble comedy The Roses, isn’t quite as terrifying as its prose.
It isn’t without its humor, but given how nasty screenwriter Tony McNamara has proven in the past (see The Favourite or Poor Things), The Roses plays things a little safer overall; though, to its credit, it commits to a certain nasty temperament in its final scene. The second adaptation following Danny DeVito’s 1989 black comedy, which saw Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner torture each other over the course of 116 wicked minutes, here our killer couple are Theo and Ivy Rose (Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman), who, when we first meet them, are in the midst of a grueling counselling session where their therapist suggests they shower the other with praise of positive attributes. They both fail to do so, belittling the other in the process, driving the therapist to admit that there may be no way forward for them as a couple. They can’t help but laugh, which allows us a glimpse at their still-genuine affection for one another.
Working its way back over time, the film quickly fills us in on how Theo and Ivy came to be. Unhappy with their individual careers at that point – him in architecture, she in cooking – they lock eyes with one another in the kitchen of a London establishment, where they both quickly detail how their ideas aren’t appreciated. Sparks fly, they have sex in the walk-in fridge, and, years later, we’re up to relative speed in their lush Californian digs where he is in the midst of unveiling his dream project, a maritime museum, whilst she is content, though struggling, with her barely-breaking-even crab shack. Though it’s clear they’re supportive of each other and love their darling twins, we can see the small cracks of their parenting disagreements; she likes to treat them with sugar, he’s far more of the healthy mindset.
The tides quickly turn, however, and we see their power positions drastically shift, as his museum crumbles under the literal weight of its ambition during a freak thunderstorm, which drives a multitude of visitors to her restaurant, including a world-renowned critic who, with one rave review, transforms Ivy’s humble shack into the hottest eatery spot; Jane (Sunita Mani) and Jeffrey (Ncuti Gatwa), Ivy’s sous chef and front-house manager, respectively, now flush with actual responsibilities.
With Ivy’s success comes expected monetary increase, and with Theo unable to professionally overcome the museum’s failing – a social media video of his meltdown not helping either – he becomes a full-time dad, taking advantage of his wife’s breadwinner status by channeling his energy and frustration into their children by training them on a comical athletic level. It’s around this stage of their current selves that they start to loathe each other more and more, with McNamara’s script, slowly but surely, enjoying the possibilities that come with spousal disinterest.
Of course, having such world-class talent as Colman and Cumberbatch at the helm doesn’t hurt, with each proving effortless at their biting delivery. It’s hard not to note that The Roses is kind of a one-joke movie, but the duo are so committed to the cause that we’re able to overlook the simplicity that is its premise. There’s an undeniable joy in how vile the two can be to one another, and though there’s a heft of capable support in Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon as their sexually adventurous couple friends, Barry and Amy, Zoe Chao and Jamie Demetriou as Sally and Rory, another couple who take a perverse delight in seeing how Ivy and Theo verbally degrade each other, and Allison Janney as Eleanor, Ivy’s eventual divorce lawyer, the film never knows quite to truly do with them to the best of their abilities.
With McNamara’s words and Roach behind the camera – he too no stranger to films that have a certain bite to them (the Austin Powers trilogy, the underrated political comedy The Campaign, and the #MeToo-centred Bombshell – it should come as no surprise that The Roses has a serious thorn to its side. Viewers who are easily offended at a certain hostility may not take kindly to the film’s tone – even if it is attacking so in a heightened comedic state. I’d like to say it won’t ruffle any feathers, but it’s difficult to know where people’s lines are, and the older crowd it could attract off Cumberbatch and Colman’s presence may be taken aback at their foul demeanour. Personally, it’s a right laugh, but you have been warned.
Overall, a different beast from the more darker-minded War of the Roses, the ballad of Cumberbatch and Colman succeeds more than it fails, primely because it doesn’t feel like a rehash of what’s come before. It doesn’t know quite what to do with its wild support cast – the suggestion of what McKinnon and Samberg’s characters are interested in feels like its own movie worth exploring – but the laughs are consistent enough and the mood appropriately mean-spirited that those wanting a little sinisterness with their sniggers should enjoy the marital anything-but-bliss of The Roses.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Roses is screening in Australian theatres from September 4th, 2025, following Advance Screenings from August 29th. It will open in the United States on August 29th.
