It’s a cliché as old as time: that marriage is a sentence to unhappiness, even for the most perfect romances. The Roses (US and UK, 2025) eagerly takes this cliché and runs with it to the most absurd and caustic territories possible.
A remake of The War of the Roses (US, 1989), directed by Danny DeVito and based on Warren Adler’s novel, the film updates the gender dynamics between the characters, but through satire arrives at the same conclusions about lack of communication and accumulated resentments in a relationship.
What’s it about?
Life seems perfect for Theo Rose (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his wife Ivy (Olivia Colman). They have a beautiful house and two children, he’s about to launch the architectural project of his lifetime, and she’s content with the small restaurant he built for her.
However, a sudden change in their fortunes leads them to swap roles: Theo must become a full-time dad, while Ivy becomes a successful chef. The transformation in their dynamic brings buried resentments to the surface, and the consequences spiral more out of control each day.
The Roses is as Nazareth sang: love hurts
The Roses provides a necessary update to previous iterations of this story, giving more balanced weight to the individual aspirations of both protagonists. The film establishes certain crucial elements, like how Ivy was supposed to travel to the United States to become a chef.
A decade later, she has given up that dream to dedicate herself to motherhood, while Theo becomes a successful architect. That is, both characters begin the story in similar territory, and one sacrifices themselves for the marriage. When the dynamic reverses and Ivy’s success makes her the primary breadwinner, aspects like parenting and Theo’s professional frustration begin to erode the relationship.
Director Jay Roach (Bombshell) and screenwriter Tony McNamara (The Favourite) chart a crescendo of resentments and verbal offenses that, once a certain threshold is crossed, become physical aggression. However, despite how ridiculous and extreme the situations in this farce can get, they never lose sight of the real emotional motives behind the catastrophic deterioration.
Thanks to this, while the journey is entertaining, what comes in the finale can feel tragic and even painful to watch. In other hands, these abrupt shifts between acidic comedy and emotional pain would result in an uneven or even uncomfortable viewing experience.
However, Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman are the glue that holds all the elements together and makes it work, even though everything is built on the same joke: a marriage on the brink of hatred. The acting duo can effortlessly transition from insult to tears, making it feel both believable and funny, but also sincere.
The conclusions of The Roses aren’t particularly profound, but they’re still valuable: lack of communication and resentments can eat away at a relationship until they destroy it. And that already makes it better than the other comedy about toxic couples this year set to The Turtles’ “Happy Together.”
The Roses opens in theaters on August 29.
