Film: The Roses

The film was nowhere near as funny as I expected. I’ve never seen the original film or read the book, so I can’t comment on how closely this adaptation follows them. The story revolves around a couple in London who meet just as Ivy, a disillusioned chef, is about to take a job in New York. Fast forward a few years, and they have two children in California. Ivy decides she wants to return to work and opens a small café. Meanwhile, Theo’s burgeoning architectural career takes a nosedive after a building collapses.

As the trailer suggests, Ivy becomes extremely successful, which goes to her head, so now they both have ginormous egos that need feeding. This, according to the trailer, is supposed to be when the fun begins, but it isn’t even a dark comedy; it feels more like cruelty, piled high as it is with toxic hatred.

Also, why on earth would they portray a British family living in the U.S.? Couldn’t they have just made a British version instead? If it were British, I can only imagine Anna Maxwell Martin in the role of marriage counsellor, or indeed the divorce lawyer, a tidy cameo from Alison Janney. Having Ncuti Gatwa in a supporting role sure helped.

It’s disappointing that Olivia Colman’s character is portrayed as much more evil - in fairness, she does bad very well - than the character played by Benedict Cumberbatch, her husband.

Sadly, most of the funny moments were already shown in the trailer.

5½/10