THE ROSES Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Jay Roach
Stars: Olivia Colman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon, Ncuti Gatwa, Sunita Mani, Jane Demetriou, Zoe Chao, Allison Janney.
The Roses is a loose remake of The War Of The Roses, the savage 1989 marital discord black comedy directed by Danny De Vito that starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner as a feuding couple. This contemporary remake is written by Australian screenwriter Tony McNamara (a frequent collaborator who has worked with Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos on films like The Favorite, etc) and is based on the 1981 novel written by Warren Adler. However, this new version lacks the misanthropic touch of the original. The film explores themes of gender inequality, divorce, the demands of parenthood versus career, and the cultural differences between Britain and the USA.
Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch, Dr Strange from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, etc), an architect, and Ivy (Oscar winner Olivia Colman), a chef, first meet in the kitchen of an upmarket London hotel when Theo walks out of a meeting following a disagreement with his boss. The pair connect, have sex in the kitchen’s cool room, and before long get married and relocate to the west coast of America.
Cut to ten years later and they have two children in Hattie and Roy. Theo has been gaining plaudits for his ambitious and controversial award-winning design for a new naval history museum. Ivy has opened a new seafood restaurant near the coast and works there a couple of days a week to work on her gourmet recipes. But then a fierce storm strikes and changes everything. Theo’s building is demolished in spectacular fashion, and the incident is captured on social media, and his humiliation is beamed nationwide. At the same time though a renowned food critic has visited Ivy’s restaurant and her gushing review turns Ivy into a nationally renowned chef.
While she spends more time expanding her restaurant chain Theo becomes a stay-at-home dad, raising their two children with almost military like discipline and fitness regimes. But their varying career and personal trajectories place a strain on their relationship. Ivy admits that she has missed out on seeing her children grow up while Theo grows jealous of her success. The cracks begin to show. Even their close friends suggest that not is all well with the couple. They even try couples’ therapy, but that is not successful, nor is a weekend trip to New York in an attempt at reconciliation.
The Roses has been directed by Jay Roach (best known for Meet The Parents and his Austin Powers trilogy), but his handling of the material is workmanlike. There are a number of flat spots throughout, and while some jokes land, many fall flat. A highlight is the dinner party that suddenly morphs into something out of Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? with vitriol and creative insults and vicious putdowns flowing thick and fast.
The film benefits from the genuine chemistry between Cumberbatch and Colman as they exchange increasingly heated and caustic barbs. They relish the finely tuned and sometimes acerbic and funny dialogue, and the language is at times a little fruity. Colman brings a wounded quality to her performance, while Cumberbatch gives his Theo an arrogance and obsessive nature. There is a strong supporting cast that includes SNL veteran Andy Samberg as Barry, a friend of the Roses who becomes Theo’s divorce lawyer, and Kate McKinnon, who delivers another of her quirky and annoying turns as Amy, Barry’s wife, who is sexually attracted to Theo. They provide some comic relief to undercut the acerbic comedy. Allison Janney makes the most of her small role as Eleanor, Ivy’s ferocious divorce lawyer who brings her Rottweiler to a meeting. Most of the rest of the supporting characters are pretty forgettable though.
This is a stylishly mounted production with glossy production values. Mark Ricker’s production design is superb, and he has done a great job with the design for Theo’s naval museum and, in particular, the Rose’s gorgeous-looking house is spectacular and it becomes another character in the film. Florian Hoffmeister’s cinematography is also quite glossy, and the bright lighting underscores the growing bitterness and tension.
★★☆
