Courtney Howard // Film Critic
THE ROSES
Rated R, 1 hour and 45 minutes
Directed by: Jay Roach
Starring: Olivia Colman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kate McKinnon, Andy Samberg, Ncuti Gatwa, Zoë Chao, Jamie Demetriou, Allison Janney, Delaney Quinn, Ollie Robinson, Hala Finley, Wells Rappaport
THE ROSES knows its job isn’t to replicate what’s been done before, but to use that previous outline to fill in the color on its own worthy, universally cutting portrait of marital discord. Based on Warren Adler’s novel THE WAR OF THE ROSES, adapting screenwriter Tony McNamara cleverly applies his trademark razor-sharp wit to a stinging contemporary parable of a crumbling American Dream. He and director Jay Roach deliver a top-shelf two-hander between its leads, as well as a smart satirical wonderland in which the supporting players stake fertile territorial claim. And, just like a rose, its bloom beguiles, yet its pricklier aspects draw blood.
We first meet the soon-to-be-unhappily-marrieds Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Ivy Rose (Olivia Colman) minutes before their meet-cute in a restaurant kitchen in London. They instantly bond over suffering at the hands of their respective insufferable bosses stifling their genius. After a quick shag in the cold storage and an illustrated opening credits sequence set to “Happy Together” (co-covered by Roach’s wife Susanna Hoffs), suddenly it’s 10 years, 2 kids and 5,000 miles away later. The wealthy, white-picket fence seaside suburbia of Mendocino is now their home. Ivy runs the household full-time, in addition to running a humble crab shack along the Bay Area hamlet a couple days a week, and Theo’s a successful, critically-lauded architect, readying his latest radical building design for its splashy debut.
They appear to be happily living the dream. That is until a reversal of fortune takes place one stormy night. Theo’s project publicly crashes, burns and turns into a viral meme, getting him fired, while Ivy’s casual chef pursuits transform overnight, turning her into a serious success. The harried marrieds agree to temporarily swap roles; Ivy will return to work full-time as Theo rehabilitates his career image whilst also tending to their home, son Roy (played in his youth by Ollie Robinson, teens by Wells Rappaport) and daughter Hattie (played in her youth by Delaney Quinn, teens by Hala Finley). Naturally this gender-role swap creates cavernous fissures – worsened by hurt egos, calculating comments and unrecognized apologies fracturing their once solid family.
Adler’s novel plays like a reflexive knee-jerk reaction to both the materialism and feminism of a changed era. It was released in 1981 when divorce rates were peaking due to shifts in society surrounding the Women’s Liberation Movement. Director Danny DeVito’s beloved adaptation, THE WAR OF THE ROSES, released at the tail end of the 80s, amped up the dark comedy of the source material, further augmenting the book’s wry commentary on the dissolution of the American Dream by destroying a palatial Hancock Park home and battering a gorgeous couple. Roach and McNamara examine those same sentiments decades later, asserting that not much has changed despite our alleged growth as a more intuitive, reflective, progressive society.
McNamara and Roach layer in the couple’s passive-aggressive and aggressive-aggressive slights against each other with smart craft and care. Sometimes the barb is cloaked in a sarcastic joke. Sometimes the mean truth acts as a dagger, much like the antique one set into their high-end dining room table (a metaphor laid bare for the audience). Sometimes it’s both a poignant and funny failure, especially in the 3rd act when the gloves inevitably come off and they’re attempting to one up each other in fiery, vengeful destruction. Their own self-sabotage becomes the bad guy, leading to a perfect end note before the credits roll.
The filmmakers also play with the pace at which the series of events occur. They don’t necessarily follow those in the book, nor the previous cinematic iteration. Roach and editor Jon Poll deliver a small handful of strong montages that give the film its peppy step. When they linger longer, they expose mounting evidence as to the demise of the once-supportive couple’s picturesque dream, whether it be a laundry pile carelessly moved onto the floor or a romantic getaway that turns rancid.
From the law office showdown between Theo and his lawyer/ bestie Barry (Andy Samberg) and Ivy and her cutthroat lawyer Eleanor (Allison Janney) to the hellacious dinner party with Barry, his undersexed wife (Kate McKinnon), and married pals Rory (Jamie Demetriou) and Sally (Zoë Chao), character-driven sequences are high-tilt broad comedy. Each supporting actor is allowed movie moments to shine, especially Ncuti Gatwa, who plays Ivy’s lead waiter and threatens to run away with the movie.
Colman and Cumberbatch are the main attraction and they deliver the goods. While they lack the sexually-charged chemistry Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas had in spades in the 1989 feature, their British accents (which makes every callous comment sound nicely condescending) and repressed heritage offer a different flavor and meaner bite. Plus, there’s a lot more heart and hope infused into their relationship’s undercurrent, giving them rooting interest.
Still, what makes THE ROSES a standout is that the filmmakers understand the notion that in marriage, there’s obviously a lot worth fighting over, but there’s so much more to fight for.
Grade: B+
THE ROSES opens in theaters on August 29.
