By the tip of The Roses, the titular couple’s marriage is nearly completed, however is there any hope for decision? The brand new black comedy from director Jay Roach tracks the vicious downfall of Ivy (Olivia Colman) and Theo Rose’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) marriage, throughout its bittersweet finish.
Although the film is a reimagining of the 1989 movie The Battle of the Roses and the novel it is primarily based on, it has the same ending to each, although one which performs out a bit in another way. Whether or not viewers are conversant in the earlier iterations or are coming into this one utterly blind, it will go away everybody reeling.
Ivy and Theo begin the film completely in love, however when their lives are reversed as Ivy’s profession soars whereas Theo’s sinks, they regularly spiral into dislike and resentment, culminating in a drawn-out divorce that largely hinges on who will get the state-of-the-art home Theo designed. Although their assaults towards one another are initially petty, the climax sees issues flip lethal.
Do Ivy & Theo Die?
All through the film, Ivy’s raspberry allergy features as the proper barometer for the state of her marriage. Whereas firstly, Ivy and Theo tag-team tending to her allergic reactions, the ending sees Theo withholding an EpiPen whereas Ivy practically asphyxiates, all within the hopes of getting her to offer him the home.
Although Theo comes by way of in the long run and saves Ivy, this kicks off a brutal, no-holds-barred struggle between the 2, with Ivy pulling out a gun and Theo smashing her beloved Julia Little one oven to items. They very practically come to deadly blows, however when Theo locks himself within the rest room, they’re lastly capable of discuss. Actually, and actually, discuss.
They notice that, regardless of what they each had thought, they nonetheless love one another. Theo emerges from the lavatory, and he and Ivy chortle over how shut they’d come to shedding one another. And but, even with this glad reversal, the damaged oven has unfold fuel all through the home. When Theo begins a fireplace for a romantic reunion along with his spouse, all we see is a white display.
Although it is a considerably ambiguous ending, there’s little query that Ivy and Theo do, in truth, die. As they’re reconciling, the digicam steadily cuts to the kitchen and hallway to emphasise simply how a lot fuel is within the air, suggesting this can be very unlikely that they made it out alive.
How The Roses’ Ending Compares To The Authentic Movie
Within the unique Battle of the Roses, Oliver (Michael Douglas) and Barbara (Kathleen Turner) additionally die, although it is a far darker ending. They find yourself falling from a chandelier – one which Barbara tampered with – and of their ultimate moments, when Oliver makes an attempt to achieve out, Barbara pushes him away.
This unusually makes The Roses‘ conclusion extra uplifting, though it too leads to the principle couple dying. Theo and Ivy find yourself reconciling, and their final minutes alive are spent rediscovering their love. One might virtually consider that, had they lived, they could’ve labored out their issues correctly.
Moreover, although Ivy pulled a gun on Theo, and he practically poisoned her, the fuel leak was unintentional. Their deaths had been a tragic aspect impact of their combating, not the results of an intentional sabotage with larger ramifications, as in The Battle of the Roses.
The Actual Which means Behind The Roses
Some is perhaps hard-pressed to search out any hint of optimism in The Roses. In any case, the entire film focuses on a pair falling aside and actively combating with one another, and it ends with their sudden deaths. Despite the fact that the entire thing performs like a comedy – albeit one with a number of suicide jokes – it is actually a tragedy.
Regardless of that, although, there’s an underlying sense of hope, significantly inside the ultimate minutes. Ivy and Theo nonetheless love one another, and it is solely after they take a second to breathe, all their partitions down, that they notice it. It is really relatively candy to see them come again collectively, even whether it is short-lived.
They spent so lengthy loathing one another, making their lives depressing, when all they really needed to do was talk. There are a number of situations in The Roses the place they appear to make an effort in the direction of being collectively; they go to remedy and try to take a romantic journey to New York. Nevertheless, they by no means actually confronted their resentments head-on, which solely allowed the problems to fester.
The guts of the issue actually lies in a scarcity of help, relatively than a scarcity of affection. Theo felt like Ivy did not perceive his struggles with staying dwelling and elevating their children, whereas Ivy solely registered her husband’s resentment towards her booming profession. They each nonetheless wished to be collectively, however they felt alone of their particular person struggles.
As soon as it spiraled uncontrolled, significantly after the feast, it felt like pure hatred – now not the “sporadic” sensation Theo talked about earlier than. Nonetheless, because the final scene of The Roses confirms, it did not imply the 2 had misplaced their love for one another. In the end, they wanted to be extra open and sincere with one another, which they lastly had been on the very finish… of their lives.
The Roses
8/10
- Launch Date
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August 29, 2025
- Director
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Jay Roach
- Writers
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Warren Adler, Tony McNamara
- Producers
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Jay Roach, Michelle Graham, Adam Ackland, Leah Clarke, Ed Sinclair, Tom Carver