The Roses (2025)

Release Date: Aug 29th, 2025

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Andy Samberg, Allison Janney, Belinda Bromilow, Sunita Mani, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Demetriou, Zoë Chao, and Kate McKinnon

Screenplay By: Tony McNamara

Directed By: Jay Roach

Olivia and Benedict are top form in this not exactly a remake. The two are absolutely having fun and crushing it with sometimes over the top performances but then next moment of grounding their characters. Even when the escalation comes to an unrealistic breaking point, you're still completely wanting to go along the ride with these two.

What the film does very well, by keeping it a tight 100 minutes, they really show the evolution of the relationship and time passing to see that it isn't just a one month rough patch. It's been many moments of strong characters falling in and out of love.

While I was really excited to watch this film because of the stacked cast, unfortunately our two leads get all the comedy. Try as many of these extremely talented, funny supporting characters to do, you don't really care about anyone else and just want the dialogue between Olivia and Benedict. Kate McKinnon tries to be the most outrageous friend, but there's something missing compared to her other roles. Same with Samberg. Allison Janney has the strongest scene, but that might be because it's her only scene.

This film is a masterclass in finding heart and anger in comedy. If these was a 2 person play on stage starring Benedict and Olivia, it would be one of the best things ever!

3/5 on Letterboxd