Val Ruloff, one of our community reviewers popped along to the Torch Theatre to see The Roses - the reimagining of the 1989 classic film The War of the Roses, based on the novel by Warren Adler.

Everything's not coming up roses here. Not for Mr and Mrs Rose. 

Not now.

Not ever, it seems.

And just to think, it all started so well... everything going for them and every promise of a bright future.

The film is based on the book, "The War of the Roses" written by Warren Adler and is directed by Jay Roach from a screenplay by Tony McNamara. There are some very dark themes and the content is darkly comic in The Roses, as the main characters wade through, struggle and suffer their way to charter the course of an ever-increasing disaster of marriage and family life. There is shock value aplenty as the ante is upped and the drama of desperation and intensity is ratcheted up. Some of these moments and scenes engender shocked reactions, nervous laughter and laugh out loud hilarity. Audience reaction is positive and audible. 

The depth and severity of some of the distress and profound experiences endured is underlined by some actual apocalyptic scenes, involving massive storms and huge amounts of destruction and loss. Quite the powerful metaphor, not to mention the plight of a beautiful sea creature from the deep - a whale beached and in need of saving.

Beautiful Devon scenery is used to great effect for representing Californian locations. The photography is worthy of special mention, 

Music and sound are most effective also, including a catchy soundtrack. Scripted dialogue certainly hits the mark as the main characters relish the lines hurled between them.

Inevitably, comparisons will be drawn between the hugely successful, iconic and well-remembered earlier film, "The War of the Roses" and now,  "The Roses"- despite the book only being mentioned in credits for The Roses but no credit mention for original film. There are differences, The Roses is described as a reimagining of the original story. Theo Rose has a career as an architect instead of a lawyer, Ivy Rose is already experienced as a qualified chef.

The hugely effective elements all coming together here notwithstanding, not too sure that The Roses packs the same fearless punches (excuse the pun) of the original film, seeming to just fight shy of the full impact of the dark, biting and teeth-sharpening dramatic events and their implications in favour of safer realms of comedy. Maybe that owes something to the British flavour added to the mix, a fact that directly crops up and is referenced during the film.

The lead cast are top-notch, with Olivia Colman as Ivy Rose and Benedict Cumberbatch as Theo Rose. The main cast are ably supported by Andy Samberg, Allison Janney, Belinda Bromilow, Sunita Mani, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Demetriou, Zoë Chao and Kate McKinnon.

Very watchable indeed. The film rollicks along, with the momentum of events carrying it at pace.

Will anyone emerge from this debacle of a marriage smelling of roses?

Will even the wearing of rose-tinted spectacles disguise the sombre hues trailing in the wake daubed by this hapless pair?

The Roses (15) can be seen on the Torch Theatre screen until Tuesday 23 September. Ticket price: £7.50 | £7.00 Cons | £6.00 Child | £24.00 Family.