Director: Jay Roach

Cast: Olivia Colman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Samberg and Alison Janney

Rating: ★★

More than three decades after Danny DeVito’s savagely funny The War of the Roses exposed the dark comedy of divorce, Jay Roach tries his hand at reimagining Warren Adler’s 1981 novel. Backed by Tony McNamara’s sharp pen and powered by two of Britain’s finest actors — Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch — The Roses promises a battle of the heavyweights. But instead of a bruising war, what unfolds is a strangely softened skirmish, glossy on the surface but lacking the sting that made its predecessor unforgettable.

Theo Rose (Benedict Cumberbatch), a celebrated architect, and Ivy Rose (Olivia Colman), a gifted chef, begin their marriage in a haze of passion and ambition. Children and domestic duties shift the balance — she spends a decade at home while his career soars. Then, just as Theo’s professional life collapses, Ivy’s culinary empire rises, and the reversal of fortunes tips their marriage into chaos. What starts as petty disagreements morphs into bitter confrontations, each escalating until their home, their friends, and even their identities are pulled into a toxic war neither can win.

The good

Olivia and Benedict are reason enough to sit through The Roses. Both dig deep into the material, sparring with venom-laced dialogue and flashes of bruised vulnerability. Olivia, with her natural warmth, makes Ivy compelling even in her nastiest moments, while Benedict leans into Theo’s bitterness and pomposity. Their chemistry is jagged but electric, and they remain watchable even when the script falters.

The supporting cast adds colour. Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon, as the couple’s friends Barry and Amy, lend dry humour to the proceedings, while Alison Janney all but steals the show as Ivy’s ferocious divorce lawyer, sweeping into the narrative like a wrecking ball. Production design and cinematography, too, deserve credit — the Northern California setting glows with a polished sheen, the elegance of the visuals clashing cleverly with the ugliness of the marriage.

The bad

The film’s central problem is hesitation. Where Danny DeVito’s 1989 adaptation dove headfirst into the darkness of a relationship turned rancid, Jay Roach pulls back, staging the breakdown in broad strokes but rarely daring to get truly vicious. The humour lands, but the savagery is watered down, leaving the film curiously hollow.

Equally damaging is the imbalance in perspective. The story glosses over the decade Ivy spends sacrificing her career, showing more of Theo’s fall from grace than her long years of resentment. This tips sympathy in Theo’s favour, sometimes reducing Ivy to caricature. For a narrative built on mutual destruction, the scales never feel even.

And then, there’s the pacing. An hour of setup — career wins, career losses, domestic shifts — delays the promised war. By the time the real battles arrive, the energy is already dissipated. And when the chaos finally erupts, it feels more staged than shocking.

The verdict

The Roses is handsomely packaged and bolstered by two powerhouse performances, but it lacks the bite, balance, and brutality that a story like this demands. What should have been a black-comic bloodbath of marital destruction is instead a glossy sparring match that never cuts as deep as it should. For all its pedigree, Jay’s version feels more like a polite disagreement than a war.