PLOT: A tinderbox of competition and resentments underneath the façade of a picture-perfect couple is ignited when the husband’s professional dreams come crashing down.
REVIEW: I never read the novel The War of the Roses, but I have always thought fondly of the Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner-starring film from the late 80s. The idea of two people doing battle in the midst of an ugly divorce has always felt ripe for comedy. So I was excited when it was announced that Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch would be taking part in a new adaptation. But rather than a dark comedy about a couple divorcing, it’s mostly just a hollow journey about a couple that constantly come to the wrong conclusions.
The Roses follows Ivy (Colman) and Theo (Cumberbatch) as we see them fall in love and start a family together. But after 13 years and plenty of trials and tribulations, they are on the path to divorce. Theo loses his job, and Ivy takes over as the breadwinner, running a very successful restaurant business, while he focuses on the family and raising their two young kids. He sets them on the path to success, yet Ivy finds herself resenting that he’s changing their kids, even though they’re successful and happy. Honestly, Ivy’s reasoning for resentment is a bit insufferable, while Theo comes across like an insecure egomaniac.
Cumberbatch and Colman have a fun dynamic together, and I was excited to finally see their big blowup with each other. But it really doesn’t last very long, and takes up very little of the story overall. Instead, the movie mostly looks at a couple who seemingly fall out of love with each other due to work or perceived slights. Rather than introducing natural elements to have the two resent each other, the film seems intent on adding moments that make both characters seem like assholes. Some of the excuses are very weak, and I was just rooting for these people to move on from each other. The movie spends so much time showing how much they’ve drifted apart through the years that it makes any thought of reconciliation ring hollow.
The dialogue between Ivy and Theo is quite witty, taking full use of their British charm and dry humor. But I honestly didn’t find the movie very funny, with only a few chuckles throughout the runtime. Kate McKinnon provides the most laughs as the awkward wife of Andy Samberg, who is constantly hitting on Theo and trying to get it on with him. I love Allison Janney, so it was disappointing that she showed up for all of one scene and then was gone. Many of the side characters, whether it’s Janney, Ncuti Gatwa, or Jamie Demetriou, feel very underutilized. Seems like wasted potential and too much focus on the couple falling out of love versus the divorce proceedings themselves.
The Roses ends up being a decent movie overall, but it feels like a bit of squandered potential. The war between the couple never really escalates for a prolonged length, and just feels like they’re checking boxes to get a montage out of the way. The oil and water element of having these two characters that hate each other despite their previous love should have taken up a much longer amount of the movie. The Roses are so fun together that it builds more anticipation for their eventual quarrel, yet outside of one scene, it just feels too little too late.
The film ends on a note that I did enjoy, but the journey getting there just doesn’t feel very earned. Maybe married couples will connect with this more, given its messaging. But I just kept waiting for a drag-out fight that never really escalates past a 10-minute sequence. I remember thinking that Douglas and Turner legit wanted to kill each other as they went at it in the original film. Here, it never really goes past feeling like childish annoyance, which makes the story less impactful.
