DUBAI: Jay Roach’s take on Warren Adler’s acrid 1981 novel “The War of the Roses” may be less overtly savage than the 1989 adaptation starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, but it still lands plenty of punches.
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Roach trades open marital warfare for a more contemporary clash of egos and expectations, infusing the story with sharp humor and modern-day sensibilities.
Two great British actors — Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch — anchor the film as Ivy and Theo Rose, whose seemingly ideal relationship implodes inside their sleek, custom-built dream home. Colman gives a layered, hysterically funny performance, while Cumberbatch captures Theo’s hurt pride and resentment as Ivy’s almost-dead career as a chef gets revitalized just as his, as an architect, nosedives overnight due to a freak catastrophe. The couple must navigate a new power dynamic within a previously loving relationship.
Roach and screenwriter Tony McNamara keep the dialogue sharp and darkly comic. The movie kicks off with an imploding couples-therapy scene that turns gratitude lists into barbed attacks.
