THE ROSES

Jay Roach, the filmmaker behind the AUSTIN POWERS series and MEET THE PARENTS, returns this year with a razor-sharp comedy based on Warren Adler’s novel "The War of the Roses". In his version, the Roses are British – played by the outstanding duo Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman – which naturally guarantees a distinctively English, biting sense of humour. Much of that edge comes from Tony McNamara, whose knack for writing with wit and venom has already been proven in THE FAVOURITE and POOR THINGS.

Roach and McNamara deliver a marriage story on steroids, laced with no-holds-barred humour that harks back to the golden age of screwball comedies. They also make the most of the fact that their protagonists are British expats trying to find their place in the Californian sun.

Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Ivy (Olivia Colman) have built their lives in California, a place that seems perfect for fulfilling their professional ambitions. He’s a brilliant architect, currently designing a maritime museum; she dreams of becoming a celebrated chef. After ten years of marriage, it turns out someone had to compromise - and, as so often in a patriarchal world, it’s Ivy who has put her dreams on hold to raise their two children. Her loving husband, eager to support her passion, buys her a beachfront property where she runs a small restaurant.

But when a freak storm wipes Theo’s museum off the map, he loses his job and sinks into depression. Ironically, the same storm brings Ivy an unexpected stroke of luck: a food critic, seeking shelter from the rain, stumbles into her restaurant and is blown away by her cooking. From that moment on, the balance of power shifts. Theo takes charge of the children and household (with all the charm of a PE teacher). Meanwhile, Ivy is hailed as the new Julia Child and begins to build a restaurant empire.

Although both insist they’re simply adapting to new circumstances, resentment simmers beneath the surface, and a real domestic war is only a matter of time.

Cumberbatch and Colman are a perfect match: funny, unpredictable, and utterly unrestrained. Roach and McNamara explore the delicate art of balancing roles within a marriage, and the impossibility of true compromise when two strong personalities with big ambitions collide. They’re unafraid to poke fun at both sexes, pricking egos on both sides with a sharply ironic touch - without ever taking sides.

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Text: Michał Sołtysek