The Roses

Jay Roach, celebrated director of Meet the Parents and Bombshell has made a triumphant return with this new frantic, witty and frankly hilarious rom-com without too much ‘rom’. 

The film follows Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Ivy (Olivia Coleman), a failed architect and a world-renowned chef, respectively, as they attempt to navigate their increasingly complex and maybe somewhat toxic relationship. Both our leads are perfectly cast as Cumberbatch and Coleman not only have fantastic chemistry, but you also really buy into their seething jealousies towards one another. The rest of the cast is also just as good, with Ncuti Gatwa and Andy Samberg being particular highlights for me. 

The script has been penned by the writer of Poor Things and The Favourite, Tony McNamara, who has obviously written pitch-perfect dialogue and injected so much wit and energy that it’s impossible to be drawn away from even the most mundane moments. But I also found it to be an incredibly tightly-woven script that includes payoff for almost every significant detail. I think the film ends on a perfect note and shows incredible restraint. 

The Roses is frankly a total blast. It’s the kind of movie that we unfortunately don’t see a lot of these days and, as such, it’s an incredibly fresh experience. I’ve now seen it twice and it’s possibly one of the best films I’ve seen this year.