The Roses spoilers follow.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman's new film The Roses has been criticised by one of the UK's leading charities.

The film, a farcical black comedy, stars the duo as a couple who's relationship turns toxic when one of them pulls ahead career-wise while the other's comes to an abrupt end due to public humiliation.

Near the end, they get into a huge fight over who gets possession of their house.

It culminates in Cumberbatch's character, Theo, tricking his wife Ivy, played by Colman, into eating food containing raspberries.

She starts to have an allergic reaction, something showcased earlier in the film, and he tries to force her to sign divorce papers (giving him control of the house) before giving her the EpiPen.

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benedict cumberbatch, olivia colman, the roses
Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

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Ivy signs the papers. Theo tearfully tells her that he never would have let her die, and would have used the EpiPen regardless. He then sees that she's signed the papers under the name Zendaya.

She then tries to kill her husband with a gun, and they smash up the house while trying to kill each other. Eventually, they admit that they do love each other, before it's suggested both die in a fire they inadvertently caused.

Following the release of the film, food allergy charity Natasha Allergy Research Foundation has published an open letter addressed to the filmmakers.

In a blog post accompanying the letter, the charity wrote: "This is not just poor taste. It is dangerous.

benedict cumberbatch, ncuti gatwa, olivia coleman, kate mckinnon, andy samberg, the roses
Searchlight Pictures

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"Withholding life-saving medication in a medical emergency is not remotely funny. To make matters worse, the film depicts an adrenaline auto-injector (EpiPen, Jext) being administered incorrectly, repeatedly. This is factually inaccurate and risks spreading dangerous misinformation."

The letter continued: "For people living with severe food allergies and their families this type of portrayal is not only triggering, but harmful. Food allergies are a medical condition that can, in an instant, become life-threatening. Using them as a plot twist for laughs is careless, offensive, and reinforces harmful myths about allergic reactions and anaphylaxis."

The letter asks the filmmakers to meet and discuss how to correct the misinformation presented, and to help raise awareness of how to act appropriately in the event of a reaction.

At the time of writing, the filmmakers of the movie (which also stars Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Andy Samberg, Saturday Night Live's Kate McKinnon and Doctor Who's Ncuti Gatwa) have not publicly responded.

The Roses is out in cinemas now.


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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.