The Roses
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman
MA15+
4/5
Based on Warren Adler’s 1981 novel, The Roses is a fast-paced, sharply-written romantic dramedy about Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Ivy Rose (Olivia Colman), an architect and gifted chef (respectively), who fall violently out of love when their careers take different paths.
As Ivy and Theo struggle to restore the love they once had, Colman and Cumberbatch are utterly believable as a warring couple with intense spite and dedication for each other. The masterful pacing generates the sense of a marital rut but never drags, features some brilliant planting and pay-off (including Ivy’s raspberry allergy), and the lulls of compromise and attempted coexistence make the renewed hostility all the more devastating. The dialogue is full of searing wit, the gorgeous cinematography revels in striking architecture and fine food, and Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon are endearing as Ivy and Theo’s more functional friends.
The third act, which builds to a literally explosive climax, is an effective culmination of the film’s bickering, boiling tension, but may go too far. Satire needs at least a toe in reality, but Ivy and Theo both do such reprehensible things to each other that your sympathy and suspension of disbelief may evaporate; mine held, but your tolerance may vary.
The Roses pairs well with the recent Australian marital body horror movie Together, but would also make a solid double feature with Antichrist. A 2009 Danish horror film by scumbag Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, Antichrist also concerns a married couple going through a rough patch in a wilderness abode. But while The Roses is frequently funny, Antichrist may drain your will to live.
The cruel ending might lose you, but The Roses is a superbly-written dramedy with the emotional intensity of a thriller, and is currently playing at the Healesville Memorial Hall.
