The Roses

Directed by Jay Roach, The Roses follows a married couple (Benedict Cumberbatch’s Theo and Olivia Colman’s Ivy) as their relationship slowly-but-surely takes a turn for the worse after Theo loses his job and Ivy finds massive success. It’s familiar subject matter that is, for the most part, employed to watchable (albeit increasingly erratic) effect by Roach, and there’s ultimately little doubt that the picture is at its best within its agreeable, briskly-paced first half – with the entertaining atmosphere heightened by the sterling performances and smattering of laugh-out-loud funny jokes and gags. (Cumberbatch and Colman’s superb efforts, in terms of the former, remain a recurring highlight, with their top-notch work matched by such eclectic periphery players as Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon, and Allison Janney.) There’s little doubt, then, that The Roses loses a fair degree of momentum once it progresses into a comparatively lackluster final third, as the over-the-top (and somewhat grating) battle that ensues between Theo and Ivy feels at odds with the comedic (and low-key) bent of everything preceding it – with the almost incongruously mean-spirited finish cementing the picture’s place as a decent-enough endeavor that should’ve been better.

**1/2 out of ****