Movie Review: The Roses

The latest cinematic adaptation of the Warren Adler novel The War of the Roses (1981), entitled simply The Roses, plays less like the bitter descent into mutual self-destruction that the book and director Danny DeVito’s 1989 adaptation that starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner depicted, and instead opts for a far more “British” interpretation of the dissolution of marriage that the book examines.

On the surface, life for the Roses – Ivy (Olivia Colman) and Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) – seems idyllic. They both have successful careers and have raised two wonderful children through love and understanding. But, when the status quo of their union is threatened as Theo’s career falls apart and Ivy’s takes off, they begin to grow distant and increasingly antagonistic towards one another until the only thing left to do is to call it quits.

Based on Adler’s sardonic take on the way a marriage can fall apart, Tony McNamara’s script focuses less on the methods which Theo and Ivy employ to exact revenge on one another and instead relies on showing a couple that simply stopped caring about their relationship in the way that they once did. Director Jay Roach approaches the comedic element of the story with a more cerebral sardonic humor instead of the physical sort that DeVito employed in his version. This allows the viewer to form their own opinions about the players in the drama and whether they find them sympathetic or merely tragic,

As the titular couple – Theo and Ivy – both Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman are allowed to showcase their ranges from the first scene they share together flirting in a kitchen when Theo attempts to escape a dinner meeting. From that moment, the pair displays a genuine connection with each other and it is easy to believe that they do, in fact, fall in love and eventually have kids together. But, what is so painful to watch is how emotionally repressed they are when things start to go awry in the marriage. It is somewhat akin to watching a preventable accident happen and doing nothing to stop it.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman in “The Roses.” Photo by Jaap Buitendijk.

While there are comedic moments in the film, again, it is played more sardonically than anything else. At one point, when the couple announces they are getting a divorce, one of their children remarks “finally.” The fact that the dissolution of the marriage was so apparent to their children – and likely everyone else – and not themselves, makes that element of the story all the more tragic.

Although the latest attempt to realize Warren Adler’s The War of the Roses in cinematic terms is not ripe with comedic entanglements and physicality, Jay Roach’s take on the story, The Roses, proves to be a successful examination of the life cycle of a marriage that began with promise, exhibited some good times, and then simply fell apart as the couple grew older.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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