Little about the Doyles makes you want to partake of their sour hospitality, even if it’s only for an hour and a half.
Comment
10/18/08
Rate this Movie 
Red Roses and Petrol (2008)
9
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:11
Fresh:1
Rotten:10
Average Rating:3.8/10
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Based on a successful Irish play by acclaimed writer Joseph O’Connor, and directed by Tamar Simon Hoffs, Red Roses and Petrol is a darkly comedic drama and a tour-de-force showcase for Malcolm... [More]
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Susan Lynch, Max Beesley, Greg Ellis
Director: Tamar Simon Hoffs
Reviews for Red Roses and Petrol
1 - 12 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Click to read the article
10/18/08
Top CriticBecause Petrol is so grim, its few moments of repentance and reconciliation don't feel as contrived as they might otherwise; if any film has earned the right to be sentimental, it's this one.
09/12/08
As even a novice moviegoer would expect, they argue and drink, then argue and drink some more.
06/27/08
Solid performances and a literary feel help turn a standard family-rift drama into a dry but saucy narrative.
06/27/08
If, as Tolstoy observed, happy families are alike, and each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, the Dublin-set film Red Roses and Petrol didn't get the message, being a dysfunctional clan movie that feels dispiritingly like all the others.
06/27/08
Top CriticWith her static camera, director and co-writer Tamar Simon Hoffs has done little to move it out of its staginess.
06/27/08
In Red Roses and Petrol, a soused, post-funeral postmortem on a dysfunctional Dublin family, the misery seeps from the screen in cold, damp waves; by the end you’ll be grabbing for the bottle yourself.
06/27/08
Top CriticMired by cliché and oddly beset by a sense of false Irishness.
06/27/08
As bland and effortless to consume as a Fig Newton (sickly sweet goo included), this rote entry in the dysfunctional-family-gathers-at-a-funeral genre makes no demands on its viewers beyond a limp appeal to the tear ducts.
06/26/08
Tamar Simon Hoffs's bland-as-boiled-cabbage adaptation of Joseph O'Connor's play finally hobbles into theaters, reminding us every 15 seconds that just because it looks distinctly American and was shot in California, it's a fookin' Irish movie.
06/25/08
I’d rather just sit in on one of my own families squabbles; we’re much more entertaining.
10/27/07
1 - 12 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Latest News for Red Roses and Petrol
June 15, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review 
More...
More Movies
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 81% | Departures | 04/12 |
| 79% | Disgrace | 04/12 |
| 79% | Me and Orson Welles | 04/12 |
| 66% | The Merry Gentleman | 04/12 |
| 61% | The Girlfriend Experience | 04/12 |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds