Red Roses and Petrol (2003)

7% of critics liked it
(15 reviews)
66% of users liked it
(273 ratings)

Their father having recently died, three estranged Irish siblings come together under the same roof for the first time in years in director Tamar Simon Hoffs' feature adaptation of an original stage by Joseph O'Connor. As the wake ends and day fades to night, old tensions begin to emerge as… More Their father having recently died, three estranged Irish siblings come together under the same roof for the first time in years in director Tamar Simon Hoffs' feature adaptation of an original stage by Joseph O'Connor. As the wake ends and day fades to night, old tensions begin to emerge as revelations about child abuse, sibling rivalries, and suspected infidelities gradually come to light. Malcolm McDowell, Olivia Tracey, and Max Beesley star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By: Tamar Simon Hoffs
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Apr 1, 2008 Wide
Studio: World Wide Motion Pictures

Critic Reviews

Maureen M. Hart, Chicago Tribune
Little about the Doyles makes you want to partake of their sour hospitality, even if it's only for an hour and a half.
Michael Hardy, Boston Globe
Because 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.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
As even a novice moviegoer would expect, they argue and drink, then argue and drink some more.
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News
Solid performances and a literary feel help turn a standard family-rift drama into a dry but saucy narrative.
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
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.
, New York Times
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.
Rob Lowman, Los Angeles Daily News
With her static camera, director and co-writer Tamar Simon Hoffs has done little to move it out of its staginess.
Sara Maria Vizcarrondo, Boxoffice Magazine
Mired by cliché and oddly beset by a sense of false Irishness.
Mark Holcomb, Time Out New York
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.
Andrew Schenker, Slant Magazine
Hoffs locks down her characters in unimaginatively framed medium shots, while mixing in a few monochromatic flashbacks, some video footage of the dead patriarch and two fast-cut sequences in a vain attempt at visual variety.
Eric Campos, Film Threat
Iâ(TM)d rather just sit in on one of my own families squabbles; weâ(TM)re much more entertaining.