Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch have defended the domestic violence ‘jokes’ in their new film The Roses.
The Peep Show actress, 51, and Sherlock actor, 49, star in a new film about a husband and wife whose fierce competition destroys their marriage.
But the film doesn’t simply depict a marriage breakdown, as husband and wife Ivy and Theo’s levels of mutual destruction become violent.
Theo deliberately feeding his wife food he knows she is allergic to then withholds her EpiPen until she agrees to sign divorce papers, before Ivy grabs a gun and chases her husband around the house trying to shoot him.
One scene sees Ivy pretend that ‘she’s been beaten’ by Theo, a part of the script that Olivia has now admitted made her uncomfortable.
But she admitted she was talked round in the end, with Benedict adding that dark instances can be expressed through physical comedy without the need for a ‘don’t try this at home’ warning.
Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch have defended the domestic violence ‘jokes’ in their new film The Roses
The Peep Show actress, 51, and Sherlock actor, 49, star in a new film about a husband and wife whose fierce competition destroys their marriage
Speaking to Radio Times, Olivia said of the scene: ‘I found that very uncomfortable – but then it’s not mocking anyone who is a victim.
‘It is definitely saying, “I want the world to know that he’s the worst kind of guy,” which is cruel of her to have done that, because he would never have done that.’
Olivia went on to say that despite her reservations she was convinced to do the scene.
Sharing his thoughts on the scene, Benedict said it needed to be made clear tonally that physical violence is not funny.
‘But we also live in a world of expressing things through physical comedy, which I think still exists without [the need to say] “Don’t try this at home”,’ he added.
It comes after a leading charity called for the movie to have a trigger warning as a result of its controversial and ‘dangerous’ allergy scene.
The scene, where Theo feeds his wife food he knows she is allergic to, then withholds her EpiPen, saw charity The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation 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.
But the film doesn’t simply depict a marriage breakdown, as husband and wife Ivy and Theo’s levels of mutual destruction become violent
Theo deliberately feeding his wife food he knows she is allergic to then withholds her EpiPen until she agrees to sign divorce papers
‘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.
‘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 and Olivia didn’t get on while filming the movie.
Douglas and Turner in The War of the Roses – the original The Roses was based on
Elsewhere in the film Ivy grabs a gun and chases her husband around the house trying to shoot him
Sources said that despite the actors being ‘very keen’ to work together, all was not well during filming, with Benedict’s serious ‘method’ acting at odds with Olivia’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.
