Saagar Kote
‘The Roses,’ a romantic drama film, chronicles the vivid marital journey of Theo, an architect, and Ivy Rose, a chef. After meeting each other in England for the first time, they develop an instant connection, leading to immediate intimacy. Ten years later, they live an idyllic life in California as a married couple, and parents to a boy and a girl. Just when their lives seem peaceful, an unexpected event rattles their world, leading to drastic career changes. Ivy opens a new restaurant, having sacrificed her career as a chef for a long time.
As Theo faces troubles in his profession, an inexplicable animosity seems to grow between the two, which becomes increasingly chaotic. With their egos, talents, and personalities on the table, the marriage of the Roses reaches a tipping point, with seemingly no breathing space. In the final moments of the narrative, Theo and Ivy find themselves dealing with an impossible choice, which could make or break their already fragile bond. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Roses Plot Synopsis
Theo, a budding architect in London, meets Ivy, a hardworking chef. They cross paths when the latter walks out of his frustrating architects’ meeting and goes to the hotel’s kitchen to be alone. The two have an instant connection, leading to sex in the kitchen’s storeroom. When Ivy talks about her dreams of moving to America for a better career, Theo immediately says he wants to join her. Ten years later, they live a happy and quaint married life in Mendocino, California, with their kids, Hattie and Roy. Theo has pursued his career, but Ivy has sacrificed hers to take care of the family. Although she doesn’t complain about this, Theo thinks that she has paid a heavier price to make the marriage work. This leads him to give her a surprising gift.
He buys her some land by the beach, which houses a dilapidated restaurant. He tells her to follow her career aspirations and not sacrifice more for the sake of the family. She builds a new restaurant on the land and names it “We’ve Got Crabs.” A fateful and stormy night gives way to unexpected changes in their careers. The heavy storm causes a building built by Theo to collapse, leading to public humiliation. His carefully constructed career comes crashing down, and leaves him devastated. The same storm prompts many people to seek shelter at Ivy’s restaurant. Due to positive word of mouth from a food critic, the restaurant gets greater success and media coverage. The once dull business starts glowing, while Theo grows frustrated with his fate. He takes up the responsibility of caring for the kids, which gives Ivy more time and space to grow her business even further.
Due to his new role in the family, the architect puts his kids on strict diets and workout plans, hoping to improve their athletic ability. As Ivy moves forward in her career, she starts to feel that her kids are growing distant from her. On the other hand, Theo starts to think that he is worthless, which makes him resent Ivy’s meteoric career growth. A trip to New York doesn’t go as planned, as both of them stay distant. The efforts to rebuild their fragile relationship hilariously fail when they have an awkward conversation with the therapist. The jealousy and negativity between the husband and the wife go beyond their limits. As a last-ditch effort to save their marriage, Ivy offers Theo a piece of land to build a grand house and prove his skills as an architect.
The Roses Ending: Do Theo and Ivy Die? How?
The conflict between Theo and Ivy reaches new extremes after the whale incident. After a seemingly unbelievable reconciliation, the husband and wife share a passionate embrace, hoping to leave the past behind and begin anew. But fate has one last trick up its sleeve. Though the film doesn’t explicitly show the Roses dying, there are multiple hints that point towards its likelihood. When the friends visit the new house, they all appreciate its beauty, which proves that Theo is indeed a fine architect. But one object in the house somehow doesn’t fit. It is immediately noticed by Amy when she visits the kitchen. In a perfect and modern house, the “Julia Child” stove from France looks old and rather dull.
It is said to belong to the real Julia Child, the legendary chef. It was Ivy’s choice, as a chef, to have something meaningful in her kitchen. The fragility of the stove is also noted by Ivy, who bought it at an auction. There is also a close shot of Ivy igniting the stove, which adds a claustrophobic sense to the visual. This seemingly unimportant detail assumes greater significance towards the end of the narrative. As the Roses have a fight towards the end, it gets physical and violent. Ivy finds a gun, and Theo throws fruits and other objects at her. Both appear merciless as they make a desperate attempt to get ownership of the house before the divorce. During this chaos, Theo makes serious dents in the stove, using the grates of the old stove.
This leads to the gas pipe beneath the stove to split, which goes unnoticed by the husband and the wife. After their reconciliation, their minds go back to the day they first met, after which they promise each other not to part till death. Theo commands the house’s control system, “Hal’ to play their song and light the fire. The visuals before this moment make it clear that the broken gas pipe has indeed led to a gas leak, which has then spread throughout the house. The element of “Chekov’s Gun” becomes an important part of the story in this case. The stove represents more than just an odd piece of equipment. It reflects the past and symbolizes the inability of human beings to let go of their ego.
Everything else in the house points towards the future and a new start, but the Julia Child stove is the only thing that keeps the past alive. The “Chekov’s Gun” gets activated in this case, merging the past and the present. The narrative carefully plants the stove through Amy’s silliness, while hiding its real purpose. It is interesting to observe that Ivy and Theo first met in a kitchen with high flames. The beginning and end of their relationship are somehow merged by fate’s deception and fire. Their destiny was perhaps to die together, after experiencing all the trials and tribulations of a layered relationship. After Theo commands the house system to light the fire, it is most likely that it will cause a huge explosion and bring an end to the lives of the Roses.
In their final moments, they die as a couple, staying loyal to each other and honoring their promises. It is also possible that the two may somehow survive the fire, but it seems less likely than the first scenario. Even if they survive, it is likely that they may not be able to live for long, as fire-related injuries may take their toll on the couple. All in all, despite their reconciliation, fate plays a twisted game on the Roses, uniting them in their deaths.
How Do Theo and Ivy Establish Peace?
The war of the Roses escalates due to the disastrous housewarming dinner. Years before, Ivy gave Theo an opportunity to pursue his architectural dreams again by buying land for him to build a new house that would showcase his talent to the world. Their fragile relationship gets a new lifeline as Theo gladly accepts the offer. Once the dream house is completed, the couple sends their kids, Hattie and Roy, off to Miami to pursue their athletic goals. The housewarming ceremony brings every frustration to the table. Ivy and Theo exchange vile insults in front of Amy and the others. The guests grow uncomfortable watching the vicious word-battle between the husband and the wife. Theo starts believing that his talents have no effect on his wife, as she didn’t even give him credit for building the house.
During his morning run, Theo spots a helpless whale on the beach, dying for help. He quickly gathers people and helps save it from death. This incident turns out to be decisive for him as he realizes that his life is worth living. Once he accepts this idea, he tells Ivy that he wishes to divorce her. These words bring horror to the wife, who didn’t expect him to take things to the extreme. She demands ownership of the house during a negotiation between the lawyers, as they move ahead with the divorce process. Both the main characters refuse to part with the house, after which they play cruel tricks on each other. They sabotage each other’s careers, leading to the restaurant being shut down and Theo being sidelined by the world of architects.
When Theo forces Ivy to sign the agreement related to the house, she tricks him by signing the word “Zendaya” instead. What follows is a climactic battle of lethality. Using objects and words as weapons to destroy each other, the husband and wife try to achieve their ends. Ivy grabs hold of a gun, and Theo defends himself with various utensils. Once the two of them have vented out their frustrations, they have a moment of realization. Theo admits that he still loves his wife, which makes her emotional. They realize how silly they’ve been in recent months and start laughing at themselves. Theo apologizes for his emotional unavailability, and Ivy says sorry for her cruelty towards him. They understand that they almost came close to killing each other, and feel thankful that they are still alive.
This is a full-circle moment for the couple, because all their attempts to hate each other fail. Their love is genuine and survives their own egos. Despite sharing a bond of love and understanding in the beginning years of their marriage, Theo and Ivy stumble during the later years. They start living in two different worlds, with even the kids feeling the impact. However, they find the path to peace, as they still have feelings for each other. Ultimately, the Roses are part of a highly layered marriage that unexpectedly stands the test of time.
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