There's a wonderful sense of mood and place, sometimes quite uncomfortable and far too real, which permeates writer-director Azazel Jacobs' "The Lovers," hitting theaters this week after its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year.
Jacobs has written a marvelously realized screenplay, which puts us in the middle of a quaint suburban home undergoing a quiet crisis. His script is so good that we don't have to have experienced what the characters are going through to understand their plight, their needs or their indiscretions. We simply exist with the characters in the moment and in every frame of the film.
"The Lovers" follows Michael (Tracy Letts) and Mary (Debra Winger), a couple of a certain age, who have been married for some time. As the movie begins, it is evident that their relationship has been eroding for a while. They are married yes, but function more has roommates, rather than eternal partners. They go to work, come home and half-heartedly check in and catch up about their days over red wine. Their marriage is on autopilot and they both know it.
What's great about "The Lovers" is that the movie doesn't make a victim or a villain out of either of its characters. Michael and Mary are both engaged in affairs - Michael with Lucy (Melora Walters) and Mary with Robert (Aiden Gillen). Their extracurricular partners are needy and often demanding but Michael and Mary are not ready to fully commit to them.
Things are thrown into upheaval when their son Joel (Tyler Ross) announces he is visiting from college with his girlfriend (Jessica Sula). Michael and Mary are forced to put their affairs on pause and make some serious decisions when Joel heads back to school. Joel has distanced himself from his parents, outside of the obligatory calls, which are met with sighs and groans. He comes home, guns blazing with his own agenda.
"The Lovers" is a terrific vehicle for playwright and character actor Letts and provides the first starring role in some time for Winger, who bring Michael and Mary to life. Buoyed by Jacobs' screenplay, we sometimes feel like we are watching the most intimate home video - "The Lovers" isn't afraid to make voyeurs out of all of us.
Jacobs, known for some much smaller work like "Terri," could play to the right audience with "The Lovers" and cast a much wider net than his previous work has. "The Lovers" is a thought-provoking marital drama and cringe-comedy in equal doses but doesn't have to be just for those who have been married for decades. The movie is about starting over and finding a rhythm, which suits your daily life, and can be found with the most unexpected people by your side - or in your periphery.
| Movie title | The Lovers |
|---|---|
| Release year | 2017 |
| MPAA Rating | R |
| Our rating | |
| Summary | This film of a disenchanted married couple is a marriage of its own between Drama and Cringe Comedy, and it works. |
