It is a film about a husband and wife whose fierce competition destroys their marriage.
But it seems The Roses’ plot has gone too far after a leading charity called for the movie to have a trigger warning.
The newly released film, starring Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch, includes a scene in which a husband deliberately feeds his wife food he knows she is allergic to, then withholds her EpiPen until she agrees to sign divorce papers.
Now charity The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation has hit out at the film, calling the scene ‘triggering’ and ‘dangerous’.
They said in a statement: ‘Withholding life-saving medication like an adrenaline auto-injector (EpiPen, Jext) in a medical emergency is not remotely funny; especially as life-threatening food allergies affect so many people.
‘These portrayals are not only triggering, they are dangerous. Using food allergies and the threat of anaphylaxis for cheap laughs is careless, offensive and completely unacceptable – just one more very important reason why it is so important for us all to continue to raise awareness and educate others on the reality and dangers of living with food allergies.
Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch’s new movie The Roses has been criticised as ‘dangerous’ over controversial allergy scene
The newly released film, starring Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch, includes a scene in which a husband deliberately feeds his wife food he knows she is allergic to, then withholds her EpiPen until she agrees to sign divorce papers
The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation has hit out at the film, calling the scene ‘triggering’ and ‘dangerous’
‘Natasha’s Foundation will be contacting the filmmakers directly.’
An EpiPen user who saw the film commented: ‘We just went to see the film The Roses at the cinema… totally shocked and traumatised by the anaphylactic scenes with allergies weaponised. I am shaking. It was such a dangerous portrayal of life-threatening food allergies.’
Another said: ‘It alarms me more that if the hundred of people that are involved with creating movies, not one person [thought] to voice how offensive and dangerous this is.’
Someone else commented: ‘As both a doctor and a mum of children with allergies, I find this really upsetting. Allergic reactions are medical emergencies — not comedy material. Portrayals like this can reinforce dangerous myths and minimise just how serious anaphylaxis is.’
The producers of The Roses were contacted for comment.
The new complaints about The Roses come after it was revealed by the Daily Mail that stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman didn’t get on while filming the movie.
Sources said that despite the actors being ‘very keen’ to work together, all was not well during filming, with Cumberbatch’s serious ‘method’ acting at odds with Ms Colman’s ‘no-nonsense, let’s get on with it’ attitude.
One insider told The Mail on Sunday last month: ‘The Roses was supposed to be a fairly easy and straightforward one to film – about a husband and a wife who don’t like one another.
‘But at times Benedict was treating it like it was some kind of Shakespearean play, wanting to seriously connect with his part, which is totally fair enough.
‘Olivia is very much the type to just get on with it, no faffing. It’s a comedy – it’s like there was a lot of overthinking going on.
‘It led to the chemistry between them not exactly being the best. It was a comedy, like a romcom, not the airy fairy-type stuff Benedict has done before.’
Following filming, which took place in both Salcombe, south Devon and Los Angeles, it is not known if they are still as close.
Oscar-winner Ms Colman, 51, is one of Britain’s most decorated actresses and has appeared in a wide range of productions from ITV drama Broadchurch to Netflix series The Crown, where she played the late Queen.
She won a best actress Oscar in 2019 for her role as Queen Anne in The Favourite.
Harrow-educated Cumberbatch, 49, who has been nominated for an Oscar twice, began his acting career with the New Shakespeare Company before going on to star in the West End and big-budget Hollywood films.
The 2025 film is a loose remake and retelling of the 1989 dark comedy film The War of the Roses.
The dark comedy is about a seemingly picture-perfect couple Theo (Cumberbatch) and Ivy (Colman) who have successful careers, great kids and an enviable sex life.
But underneath the façade of the perfect family is a tinderbox of competition and resentments that’s ignited when Theo’s professional dreams come crashing down.
