The Roses is Gender Warfare with a Deliciously Dark Spin
A fresh version of 1981’s bitterly comic novel gets modernised and defanged… to a point.
good.film
4 months ago
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It's been ages since we've dived into a proper comedy... especially one as thorny as this.
THE ROSES hit cinemas on Thursday, and no, it's not quite a remake of 1989's revenge hit The War of the Roses. That movie was a sharp, dark look at possessiveness and 1980's greed (hey, Michael Douglas played Gordon "Greed is Good" Gekko in 1987's Wall Street, after all).
The new version directed by Jay Roach (Bombshell) is actually a fresh new adaptation of the Warren Adler novel from 1981, and the film's themes have been updated too. The black comedy is still front and centre - there's some brilliant one-liners from Aussie writer Tony McNamara - but now, THE ROSES has a different flavour of fish to fry.
THE ROSES stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Allison Janney, Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon. SEE IT FOR LESS with a Good Tix movie voucher - every Good Tix sold includes a donation to Australian charities.
How has The Roses been freshened up for 2025?
Today's version of the story is much more focused on the power balance between a husband, Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his wife Ivy (the always brilliant Olivia Colman). He's an outstanding architect, and he defines most of his persona from his work. But when his newest build collapses in a freak storm, he's suddenly unemployable.
The story starts to play with how Theo wrestles with that. Who is he without his career label? He seems embarrassed to be dealing with laundry and dog poo as a new stay-at-home-Dad. The pained expression that Cumberbatch gives to Theo seems to be saying, Hang on, I've won awards - aren't I better than this?!
All this happens just as Ivy's genius for pairing new flavours with seafood gets discovered by California's elite, so suddenly, she's the breadwinner. More than that actually - her restaurants are booked solid, she's featured in magazines and being invited on private planes with celebrity chefs to live the high life. And it's obvious that Theo feels left out, resentful and jealous.
For their marriage, it's a sudden role reversal that asks a lot of questions. Ivy gave up years of her career to raise their kids, so why can't Theo do the same? Or is Ivy being a bit unfeeling by embracing her new success while her husband mourns his own career dying?
How does The Roses look at motherhood and careerism?
This struck us as one of the film's chewiest themes. Ivy's talent is in sudden demand - she WANTS to pursue that and so does Theo - he's an encouraging husband and he's happy for her. But the irony of parenthood is that generally, the more time you spend fueling your work, the less you have left for your offspring.
By running an empire, living her dream and growing herself, Ivy's mostly away from her family. Professionally she's a huge success - but in her eyes, as a wife and mother, she's a failure. The whole storyline ploughs into the guilt that women can feel (or are socially prompted to feel) when they prioritise their career 'ahead' of their children. And the stats don't lie...
The graph below from the Australian Institute of Family Studies shows the jump over 40 years of women in their 30s in the workforce... from 50% to nearly 80%. And it's still mostly women that opt to take time out of their careers to raise kids. Recent data from our Workplace Gender Equality Agency suggests only 17% of parental leave was taken by men! So while there's good legislation in place to drag things onto equal footing, culturally, we're still figuring things out...
Colman beautifully expresses the wrench of that impossible ask. One scene is really palpable, when Ivy's daughter shares that she got her first period, but it was okay because "Dad was there" for her. Ivy's heartbroken that she missed this delicate mother-daughter milestone... then Theo weaponises it, by throwing back at Ivy that it's okay she wasn't there - "You never are."
There's another layer of resentment too: now that they're on his watch, Theo encourages his kids to start getting sporty. Soon [mild spoiler], they're so physically fit that they both win scholarships to an elite sports school, and move away from home. Her children have turned into people Ivy doesn't recognise - and she can't hide her anger towards Theo for causing it.
What does The Roses say about marriage, love and lust?
In this new version of The Roses, Theo & Ivy are deeply in love. They're even still in lust for eachother: they're upfront about sex and their desire for each other. The point is they're not incompatible people... but life's events & obstacles keep turning them into enemies (Theo is aghast when Ivy wakes their kids up at midnight to try ice-cream sandwiches for "fun").
When things are good, they can work with that because they're partners. When things aren't good? That's when nastier colours emerge. Take the dinner party scene when barbs start flying in front of their stunned friends: Theo says of the dessert's bitter aftertaste, "Ivy likes to leave a little bit of herself in every meal" while Ivy hits straight back with a dig at Theo's lovemaking.
Neither of those things are true. Theo loves his wife's cooking and Ivy loves her husband's body. But the truth is clouded by all of their OWN emotional layers - shame, regret, resentment. It's easy to see how even a strong couple can turn on each other under stress (in Australia, around one in three marriages end in divorce). The love is still under there, deep down... but it's just so FUN to throw oranges at your wife's head or drop a pair of live crabs into your husband's bath.
One surprising bit of honesty comes from their friend Amy (Kate McKinnon), who's a little TOO keen for a one-night stand with pretty much anyone except her husband Barry (Andy Samberg). Theo's worried - obviously they're on the rocks? But Amy sets him straight. Sure, she lusts after someone different for a night - but if she was going through chemo, it's Barry that she'd want by her side. Barry puts the change a different way: "I used to know what she was about to say even before she said it. Now, sometimes I don't know what she means even after she's said it."
What’s the takeaway from The Roses?
Like the original film, The Roses' luxury home becomes the rope in their tug-of-war - but that's just a red herring. What Theo & Ivy are really battling to win back is their past. There's things they've said they can't unsay, and time they've been gone they can't come back for. And over time, their pride in themselves has replaced their support for each other like a strangling weed.
We still want to stress, this film is FUNNY. It occasionally goes to extremes (guns and epi-pens are both fired off), but The Roses insightfully digs into the idea that any partnership is a living, breathing thing. It's about more than just passion. Frustrated? Yeah, that'll happen. You need patience. Flaws? We've all got 'em. You need awareness to realise YOU'RE not perfect either.
Theo & Ivy started out as each other's cheerleaders. Maybe by the end they still are (we won't spoil things). If there's any one takeaway from The Roses though, it's that choosing to be each other's cheerleaders is what keeps a marriage on track. Like a pot of French cream simmering on the stove, you've got to tend to it. It's when you turn your back that things quickly boil over.
THE ROSES is out now in Australian cinemas. Get discount movie tickets to see it for less at Event, Village and Hoyts Cinemas right here. We donate $1 from every Good Tix sold to Australian charities.
