I Think The Roses May Be One Of The Best Breakup Movies I Have Ever Seen, Here’s Why

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I enjoy romantic comedies, particularly those with feel-good, happy endings. But I don’t mind a romance that ends sadly. When I decided to watch The Roses, I knew it was about a couple’s marriage failing, so I wasn’t expecting a cheerful resolution.

Honestly, I wasn’t prepared for how deeply this film would affect me. I realize now I’ve never actually seen the original War of the Roses, and maybe that’s why. Knowing the source material might have given me a heads-up. But looking back, I’m almost glad I went in completely blind. The Roses really just… wrecked me in the best way possible. It completely gutted my soul, and I mean that as a compliment!

Warning: The Roses Spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution.

The Roses Is Hilarious, But Completely Heartbreaking

The Roses is likely a dark comedy, finding humor in the painful experience of losing a great love. While divorce might seem funny years later – maybe someone will eventually laugh about theirs – it’s initially a deeply crushing experience. It acknowledges that sometimes first loves don’t last, and people can find happiness again, but focuses on the raw reality of heartbreak before any healing can begin.

People enter marriage expecting it to last, filled with hope for the future. That’s why divorce can be so devastating, bringing feelings of betrayal, loss, sadness, and hopelessness. While divorce is rarely a laughing matter, life is full of humor. Sometimes, even the most painful experiences, like divorce, can be seen as a mix of tragedy and comedy.

The humor in The Roses comes from Tony McNamara’s clever writing, which perfectly captures the ups and downs of marriage. Romantic relationships can be wonderful and endearing, but also awkward, argumentative, and even explosive. The film hilariously and honestly portrays these complexities, and as someone who enjoyed watching the couple together, their split felt particularly poignant.

The Movie Starting With Their Happy Times Made It Hard To Accept Their Ending

Like most films about relationships ending, The Roses begins by showing us the couple at their happiest. It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Ivy (Olivia Colman) will eventually separate, or try to. The film draws you into their joy so completely that you can’t picture their marriage failing. This works because it makes you believe, for a while, that love – especially a long-lasting, happy love – can overcome anything. But the film subtly reminds us that, in real life, many relationships don’t last forever.

It’s funny how even seemingly perfect relationships have their challenges. Theo and Ivy appeared so well-suited, and even when things got tough, it felt like they could overcome anything. Maybe that’s why their breakup hit me so hard – they seemed destined to be together, had a strong connection, and were genuinely lovely as a couple. It’s hard to accept that it’s over.

Their connection was so strong and pleasant that it overshadowed the real problems. I kept seeing them as they used to be, ignoring how the relationship had changed and wasn’t working anymore. Because I loved them as a happy couple, it was easy to grieve the loss of that. I didn’t want to accept the end of Ivy and Theo’s balanced partnership, and that allowed me to empathize with their pain. The fact that their marriage had once been so wonderful made it incredibly difficult to accept that it couldn’t be saved.

Maybe it could have, but it was destined to all blow up and end.

The Final Half Being So Over-The-Top Works Because It Let Me Forget My Sadness For A Bit

The movie really transforms into an all-out action-packed fight near the end, with characters becoming incredibly hostile and even trying to kill each other. It’s completely wild, but surprisingly funny to watch. I think that contrast – the shocking violence mixed with the comedy – makes it one of the best films of 2025, or at least a top comedy. You’re shocked, but you can’t help but laugh.

After Rose and Jack decide to separate, the movie could have easily become sad, showing their long relationship fall apart. It’s a genuinely touching love story that feels cut short. But instead, the film surprises us by focusing on how far they’ll go to win the house – a battle that seems to be about control, not love, and ultimately leads to an empty triumph.

As a film buff, I was really struck by how over-the-top this movie gets – and I loved it! It’s so wild, it just lets you switch off and enjoy the sheer craziness of everything. Honestly, the antics between Theo and Ivy get almost cartoonish at times, but it works. What’s clever is how the movie lulls you into loving their relationship in the first half, then completely flips the script. It’s genuinely heartbreaking, but you end up feeling a little amused by the whole mess, which is a really interesting tonal balance.

You cannot cry if you’re too busy laughing.

The Roses Brutally Depicts Losing Your Happy Home. It Feels Too Real At Times.

The movie The Roses is powerfully moving because it portrays the pain of breakups in a very relatable way. The moment Theo explains to Ivy that his encounter with the whale led him to realize he didn’t want to continue their relationship felt shockingly harsh – almost like a personal blow.

That statement, though harsh, really hit home. This story explores how easily we can end up hurting the people we care about the most. Sometimes, love can make us act in ways we wouldn’t expect, and when that happens, it might be time to reconsider the relationship.

Seeing Theo and Ivy’s joyful moments makes it especially difficult to say goodbye. The show’s ending is actually quite insightful – sometimes, death is the only way to achieve true closure. While people separate all the time, it doesn’t always mean they fully move on. Lingering thoughts and unresolved feelings can stay with us long after a relationship ends.

Okay, so the film ends with Theo and Ivy meeting a tragic end together, and honestly, it’s a bittersweet moment. There’s a romantic element, sure, but it’s overwhelmingly sad because even as they’re facing their fate, they’re still clinging to the idea that things could be different. It’s heartbreaking because they inflict so much pain on each other before even attempting to fix things. Ultimately, their relationship was beyond saving, and this final act confirms it – they’re both gone, and it feels definitive.

The Roses Also Works Because You Can See The Bad And Good With Both Main Characters, So I Wasn’t On Anyone’s Side

It really struck me how quickly things turned dark. One person would do something awful, and then the other would retaliate with something just as bad. What was so heartbreaking was seeing how different they were at the beginning – so sweet and caring with each other. It made me realize, though, that this is sadly how a lot of relationships actually are. Love isn’t always pretty, and it can definitely get messy and even cruel.

Theo and Ivy are generally good-hearted people, and that shows in their relationships with their children and friends, as well as how they used to support each other. However, when their romantic relationship fell apart, they began to treat each other terribly. Their conflict escalated to the point where hurtful behavior seemed commonplace, making it hard to distinguish between love and hate.

The Roses is a funny, yet unflinchingly honest, look at the difficult emotions that follow a breakup.

Stream The Roses on Hulu.

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2026-01-28 17:11