- Actors: Debra Winger, Tracy Letts, Aidan Gillen, Melora Walters, Tyler Ross
- Director: Azazel Jacobs
- Film Format: AC-3, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- Region: Region A/1
- Rated: R
- Studio: LIONSGATE
- Release Date: August 1, 2017
- Run Time: 94 minutes
A comedy about
adultery is a hard sell, and one that writer/director Azazel Jacobs commits too
completely with The Lovers. Even when
the charm of the lead performances begs for a more sentimental shift in the
storyline, Jacobs stays dedicated to the ideas in his screenplay rather than
the tradition of most romantic comedies or the desires of most viewers. In this
sense, The Lovers is a completely
successful film experiment that owes a great deal of its likeability to actors
Debra Winger and Tracy Letts and their layered performances.
From the opening
scenes in the film, the title of the film becomes instantly clear, though its
meaning will open up over the course of the film. Before we even see a scene
with married couple Michael (Letts) and Mary (Winger) together, we are given
dual scenes of them interacting with their secret lovers. Mary sneaks out of
her office building to have a conversation with Robert (Aidan Gillen) about her
intentions to leave Michael for him, while Michael has a similar post-coital
discussion with his hysterical girlfriend, Lucy (Melora Walters). When Mary and
Michael finally do interact, it is mostly with causal lies and routine patterns
of secret texts and phone calls. Ironically, much of their efforts to hide
their own affair are unnecessary, as the other person is too preoccupied with
their own extramarital activities to notice the other person’s behavior.
The film takes a
turn when Michael and Mary, presumably frustrated with the constant nagging from
their secret lovers, are drawn back to each other. With expectations long
vanished, they find in each other the freedom of obligation that presumably
attracted them to have an affair in the first place. The only problem is that
they have a commitment to their lovers, and must keep secret their affair in
wedlock from those they are secretly committed to outside of the marriage. This
could easily turn into a comedy of errors, but Jacobs is much more interested
in the comedy coming from the complicated hypocrisy of the characters than in
any contrived scenario. And in allowing the characters to take the forefront,
he also gives them enough depth so that their flaws don’t define them.
Somehow even
while making these characters feel real, there is little at stake when they
betray each other. The narrative remains farcical, never asking us to feel
empathetic of them in their duplicity. The one exception involves a climactic
section in the third act, when Mary and Michael’s son returns home for a visit.
Joel (Tyler Ross) brings his new girlfriend, Erin (Jessica Sula), unaware that
he is walking into a home full of mixed signals. Having grown up watching them
fight, it is the sight of Michael and Mary getting along that is most
disorienting for Joel. Although much of the film remains detached from
emotions, Joel’s involvement in their complicated relationship highlights the
selfishness of the couple, perhaps more than Jacobs intended.
The Blu-ray
release of The Lovers also comes with
a Digital HD copy of the film, along with the special features on the disc.
These extras include two featurettes and a filmmaker’s audio commentary with
Jacobs. The first featurette is a generic promotional making-of, with the usual
interviews praising the experience making the movie, while the other focuses
more specifically on the musical score created for the film.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7.5/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 6/10
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