The Roses (2025)

My initial thought when I heard this adaptation of The War of the Roses would be directed by Roach was that it might lean into the silly, the over the top battling of soon-to-be exes, and the trailers did push it in that direction. However fortunately it actually spends more time on the relationship between its lead characters than on the revenge. And that part of the movie is quite good. It's often quite smart and endearingly funny. The final act, which falls into the cliches of divorce is less so but it feels like the film knows this, sort of rushing through it so that it doesn't have to spend much of its time there. The only downside is that it doesn't give its final moments enough time to truly resolve and therefore loses some of it punch. 

The Roses examines the ways marriage itself can eat away at connection between the parties. Neither Colman or Cumberbatch's characters are ideal humans but they are both quite relatable and generally lovely, facing very real world (for upper middle class white people anyway) challenges and the film does a nice job of diving into this. The script is funny, if sometimes a bit loose, and it is delivered with a charming dexterity by the film's too amazing leads, actors who can do almost anything, and have surprisingly good chemistry together. 

So while I very much enjoyed it, The Roses left me wanting near the end as they descend into a silliness which just saps some of the power of the rest of the film for laughs which don't quite feel worth it all. I think there is a darker movie here which could have truly taken the characters into a sort of madness and then redemption in a way that might have been more heartfelt. However, as I mentioned earlier, the ending is rushed and less honest than what had come before, and I wasn't sure I entirely bought the final moments. But still, Colman and Cumberbatch are both so good (as are the supporting cast) that The Roses makes for some good, if not perfect, viewing that does ask us to consider some questions about marriage and relationships and perhaps laugh a little too. 

The Roses 

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Andy Samberg, Alison Janney, Sunita Mani, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Demetriou, Zoë Chao, Kate McKinnon 

Director: Jay Roach

Writer: Tony McNamara