TL;DR – A film built entirely on the chemistry of Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman, which is a fundamentally good idea. But then the film makes several choices that make you pause.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

The Roses Review Introduction –

Unfortunately, 2025 has not been kind to the satirical Dark Comedy, with many noted filmmakers falling in the attempt to capture that vibe. With film after film falling in its wake. However, can a remake of a classic from 1989 find its footing? Well, to pull that off, you would need to cast two leads with impeccable chemistry and bring it into the 21^st century, but there is a chance you can pull it off.    

So, to set the scene, Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Ivy (Olivia Colman) are both professionals working in London and being held back by their respective bosses. However, fate brought them together one day, and the chemistry was instant, so instant that they took a gamble to fly off to California after one meeting. Ten years later, they are married with twins, and Ivy has put her career on hold to raise the family. But when a calamity strikes and Theo is fired, Ivy steps up to take the slack, working in her new restaurant. It is a complete 180° shift in their marriage dynamic, which I am sure will have no lasting repercussions.   

Stunning Chemistry

There is one thing a film like this needs, and that is for you to believe our two leads are deeply in love, and for that, you need chemistry. Well, goodness, I am not sure if Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman have worked together before, but their banter in their first meet-cute was so perfect that I believed it. Where it is pure love, sharing co-existence, or utter calamity, you always felt it came from a real place of emotion. Films exploring the breakdown of a marriage often feel like they make the actors so distant from each other that you can never see them being married in the first place. Not so here.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman throw themselves into these roles. You feel the highs and lows, the oranges to the head, the joys of escaping group events via made-up stories, and the sheer heartbreak when you know it is over. Watching all of this play out, when you can see pathways back to a loving marriage, and the joy that is still there, but also seeing how they constantly fail to make those choices, was fascinating to watch. Add to this the fact that the pair are outrageously funny with some of the most out-of-the-pocket banter I have seen this year. What you get is a film that is famously engaging.

Baffling Choices

However, putting all of that aside, and that is most of the film, I do have to bring up the fact that we also get a film that is filled with some of the most baffling choices I have seen in cinema this year. This is clearly a British film, in tone, style, and lead cast, but they have gone out of their way to set it in California, which I cannot fathom why they would do that from a narrative perspective, other than so it would be more marketable in the USA. But what is even more bonkers is this movie that is set in California for some baffling reason, was also clearly, and I mean there is no mistake, clearly, filmed in the south of England. I mean, they don’t even do a good job of hiding it.

This choice also leads to some of the main frustrations with the film. For example, I am entirely not sure what Kate McKinnon, or her character, was doing in this film. Indeed, I am not sure the film knew either. It is just one of the moments where you get ripped out of the narrative, like another example, Allison Janney getting near the top billing, even though she is only in one scene of the film. These choices speak to a larger problem: a lack of faith in your core concept. Then there is the awkwardness in trying to make their dream home look like it existed in the real world and not on a sound stage somewhere. Look, I am sorry to be picky about this; if I can clearly tell that something is a matte painting background, it needed more work.       

Structure

While there are some baffling choices, the film does manage to hold up until the end of the story. For those who have watched the 1989 film, it will be a bit odd because they condense much of the energy of that film into the third act, where it gets wild. But the film does a good job of building their relationship up, showing you the pressure points, the lack of communication, and then the potential downfall in a way that it feels like a natural evolution. I mean, if nothing else, this film made me regret that I did not eat dinner before seeing it.  

Conclusion

In the end, do we recommend The Roses? Well, this is a film that tells you just how vital cast chemistry is from both sides of the equation. Both Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman make this a captivating watch from beginning to end. However, that chemistry is lacking in many of the supporting characters, which makes this film a drag to watch at times. On the balance, I think it works, but it does make me wonder about the version of the movie with all those extraneous factors removed. Have you watched The Roses? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked The Roses, we would recommend to you Crazy, Stupid, Love because it also shows how important chemistry is and gives an interesting take on what happens when you fight for your marriage.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Roses
Directed by – Jay Roach
Screenplay by – Tony McNamara
Based on – The War of the Roses by Warren Adler & The War of the Roses by Michael J. Leeson
Music by – Theodore Shapiro
Cinematography by – Florian Hoffmeister
Edited by – Jon Poll
Production/Distribution Companies – Searchlight Pictures & 20^th Century Pictures
Starring – Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Hala Finley, Delaney Quinn, Wells Rappaport, Ollie Robinson, Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon, Ncuti Gatwa, Sunita Mani, Zoë Chao, Jamie Demetriou, Belinda Bromilow & Allison Janney  
Rating – Australia: MA15+; Canada: 14A; Germany: na; New Zealand: R; United Kingdom: 15; United States: R