The Lovers

Name: The Lovers
Genre: Comedy
Released: May 5, 2017
Duration: 97 min
Rating: 76
Cast: Aidan Gillen, Debra Winger, Jessica Sula, Melora Walters, Tracy Letts

2017

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Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Ratings

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6.3

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6.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Ratings

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The Lovers

Movie Details & Credits

| Release Date: May 5, 2017

Starring: Aidan Gillen, Debra Winger, Jessica Sula, Melora Walters, Tracy Letts, Tyler Ross

Summary: A long-married and completely dispassionate husband (Tracy Letts) and wife (Debra Winger) are in the midst of serious affairs and are increasingly committed to their new partners. But on the brink of officially calling it quits, a spark between them suddenly and unexpectedly reignites, leading them into an impulsive romance that forcesA long-married and completely dispassionate husband (Tracy Letts) and wife (Debra Winger) are in the midst of serious affairs and are increasingly committed to their new partners. But on the brink of officially calling it quits, a spark between them suddenly and unexpectedly reignites, leading them into an impulsive romance that forces them to navigate the hilarious complications of “cheating” on their respective lovers.… Expand

Director: Azazel Jacobs

Genre(s): Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 97 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Los Angeles Times - Justin Chang

May 4, 2017

Its emotional reserves are deeper and more capacious, its sense of mystery more profound, than in just about any American movie of any scale I’ve seen in recent memory. Read full review

Rolling Stone - Peter Travers

May 5, 2017

A meandering but altogether mesmerizing film from writer-director Azazel Jacobs that finds buoyant comedy and touching gravity in the ashes of a relationship. Read full review

St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Calvin Wilson

May 18, 2017

The Lovers is the rare film that acknowledges that romance isn’t limited to people in their 20s and 30s. It’s also a smart, quirky comedy that moviegoers of any age should find eminently appealing. Read full review

The A.V. Club - Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

May 3, 2017

Azazel Jacobs’ The Lovers is set in the sort of unremarkable, average, suburban America that is rarely depicted in American movies in anything but a negative light, usually as a place where dreams go to die. So one of the unexpected virtues of this small, thoughtful film is how it resists treating these surroundings as soul-crushing or as a symbol of the failure of middle-class mores. Read full review

The Seattle Times - Moira Macdonald

May 18, 2017

Letts has some fine moments, but it’s Winger who really brings the color to this movie, creating a woman filled with disappointment and passion and wit, taking a small-scale comedy of manners to a darker, richer place. Read full review

San Francisco Chronicle - Mick LaSalle

May 10, 2017

In a sense, Jacobs has made a movie about sex that’s not about sex at all. We often hear about “sexual sublimation,” but The Lovers depicts the reverse, which is probably more common, in which sexual adventure becomes the most available substitute for cherished lost dreams. Read full review

The New York Times - Jeannette Catsoulis

May 4, 2017

Falling with a thud between two stools, it has neither the zip nor the zaniness of farce nor the airy vivacity of the best romantic comedies. Read full review

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User Reviews

TVJerry

May 28, 2017

This film should be considered a melodrama, not because of the traditional definition, but because of the wretched orchestral accompaniment that pervades this film like a soap opera. Debra Winger and Tracy Letts play a long-time couple in a stale marriage. Both of them are having an affairThis film should be considered a melodrama, not because of the traditional definition, but because of the wretched orchestral accompaniment that pervades this film like a soap opera. Debra Winger and Tracy Letts play a long-time couple in a stale marriage. Both of them are having an affair and headed for divorce when they re-discover their love for each other. Since the plot is relatively simple, it's up to the performances and direction to make it work. Luckily, Winger and Letts are both wonderfully nuanced as the couple in a complex situation. The filmmaking is less successful. In addition to the music that's distracting as hell, the plot meanders thru the interactions with an "adult" pace (meaning slow). Still, this film tells a mature and appealing story.… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

JLuis_001

Aug 3, 2018

At first sight it might seem like a story already seen - A middle-aged couple in crisis - but this is A24 and conventional stories are not their demographic. It is true that sometimes they fail but to my see they didn't do it with this one.

I compare it with Enough Said, which I recentlyAt first sight it might seem like a story already seen - A middle-aged couple in crisis - but this is A24 and conventional stories are not their demographic. It is true that sometimes they fail but to my see they didn't do it with this one.

I compare it with Enough Said, which I recently saw because like that film, it tells a mature story about adults and those kind of dramas and comedies are needed and The Lovers is precisely that, a fresh look at an old argument.

It's not really renovating but it's definitely worth it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Lyn

Oct 28, 2017

Discovering that the lead actress was Debra Winger was shocking to me. I'm sure she looks great in real life, but in the film she seems so old and tired -- despite a percolating love life with a lover played by Aidan Gillen! She's a good metaphor, though, for her old and tired marriage,Discovering that the lead actress was Debra Winger was shocking to me. I'm sure she looks great in real life, but in the film she seems so old and tired -- despite a percolating love life with a lover played by Aidan Gillen! She's a good metaphor, though, for her old and tired marriage, which both she and her husband are having a hard time ditching. A French version of this film would have a lot more wit and insights, and some aspects seem improbable. Still, you might find it interesting if you like relationship dramas.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Spangle

Aug 30, 2017

Detailing the respective affairs of married couple Michael (Tracy Letts) and Mary (Debra Winger), The Lovers borders on the touching and poignant, while never really having enough meat on its bones to make it all come together. Instead, it is too much of a re-hash of prior commentary onDetailing the respective affairs of married couple Michael (Tracy Letts) and Mary (Debra Winger), The Lovers borders on the touching and poignant, while never really having enough meat on its bones to make it all come together. Instead, it is too much of a re-hash of prior commentary on affairs in relationships to really break out on its own. Content to just focusing on the sexual portion of relationships, how people get tired without any spice in the relationship, and how people constantly promise their mistress/mister(?) they will tell their spouse, The Lovers has some interesting situations but never really hits the right notes to make it all come together. As it stands, The Lovers is just too paltry and stripped down to be an overly compelling watch and, as a result, it is rather difficult to recommend this one as a truly necessary watch.

Relying largely upon a score to tell its story for much of the film, The Lovers often goes through long stretches of time with little-to-no dialogue. Oddly enough, this potentially dull approach is the film's best quality, adding this feeling that we are watching a visual accompaniment to a symphony orchestra instead of a film. It also allows the film to cover-up its rather dull treatment of its themes, but by-and-large, it is often beautiful to listen to and allows the film to achieve success that it limited story cannot reach. This rather dull and paltry story, however, is what largely undermines the film as a whole by never allowing it to separate itself from better and more in-depth looks at affairs and the emotions surrounding them. Instead, the film i rather simplistic and just shows the sneaking around and some of the anger, but quickly advances through it all in the name of simple and unspoken decisions. Had the film been willing to confront more of the emotional weight surrounding such actions in a relationship, The Lovers could have avoided becoming dull or having to rely upon the score to really tell a compelling story. However, as it stands, this score is nothing more than a band-aid for a story that never really achieves stand-alone status and could have instead been told in a short film.

While Tracy Letts and Debra Winger do a good jobs in their respective roles, The Lovers also suffers from some poorly written and acted bits that only serve to undermine the authentic emotion of that moment. Chief among them in a scene of Michael and Mary having dinner with their son and his girlfriend. Awkward to sit through due to the undercurrent of emotion all of them know to be present, the dinner is best described as people trying to act awkward and stiff, but doing so in an awkward and stiff manner. As a result, it feels akin to something out of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, except the whole has already been turned into pod people and is trying to act like this whole lack of emotion thing is better than really feeling anything. It really ruins the moment, and unfortunately, too many dramatic moments get the same treatment. Both Robert and Lucy exhibit the same behavior when fighting with Mary and Michael, respectively, as Jacobs' sparse dialogue renders their conversations feeling more akin to highlight reels taken out-of-context with the scenes never able to really soar as the actors are given so little to work with in the way of depth or content, plus Jacobs never allows the scenes to stand on their own by either relying on the score or just cutting away.

Feeling rather disjointed in structure and instead relying upon an awkward flow to keep the proceedings moving forward, The Lovers is both unoriginal and dully handled. Had it been longer, it would have been a tougher watch, but as it stands, the enjoyable acting from Letts and Winger make this one that is rather easy to get through, even if it is lacking any of the substance or emotional resonance a film with these themes should have been able to possess.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

amheretojudge

Aug 28, 2018

a scoreboard mentality..

The Lovers The Lovers is a character driven romantic drama whose quirky perspective and the lens through which it views monogamy, is thoroughly entertaining. Ticking for around 90 minutes, it easily charms its way out, but unfortunately none is wiser when thea scoreboard mentality..

The Lovers

The Lovers is a character driven romantic drama whose quirky perspective and the lens through which it views monogamy, is thoroughly entertaining. Ticking for around 90 minutes, it easily charms its way out, but unfortunately none is wiser when the curtain drops. The structure of the premise is textbook which makes its first act basically an introduction where the makers are spending most of the time on setting the plots and characters. But they do it with such panache that the grace respects the material in here.

Having said that, it doesn't suggest that it is appropriately bred, in fact if anything it makes the rest on it unstable act riding with an uneven pace. The chemistry between the lead character is the glue that holds it all, through thick and thin and believe it or not, the features fluctuates a lot. It's the equation of son arriving on screen, elevates the self-mocked script into an unexpected territory that is straight out fired bullet. It falls flatly on technical aspects like cinematography and editing along with background score although the last song sung by Letts is impressive. The camera work is appreciative and is shot with neat and clean props and location that makes it light and breezy; at least for the most part of it. Winger is complicated, Letts is confident and Gillen is impressive as always but Walters is the additional surprising little package that explodes loud and clear. The writer-director Jacobs is much smarter than it seems as its props are well set and tiny notions that resembles eerily with practicality. Zipped up frustration, humoristic script and amazing performance are the high points of the feature. The Lovers has a scoreboard mentality that is tossed on the name of monogamy but with a heartwarming touch that is felt by the viewers.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

HipsterDufus

Jun 2, 2017

MEH. My wife and I decided to see it based on critic reviews and were sorely disappointed. Almost left a few times, but hoped it would improve. Not a comedy, except I did laugh out loud when the guy behind us had spilled an entire bag of M&M peanuts during a quiet moment. Personally, IMEH. My wife and I decided to see it based on critic reviews and were sorely disappointed. Almost left a few times, but hoped it would improve. Not a comedy, except I did laugh out loud when the guy behind us had spilled an entire bag of M&M peanuts during a quiet moment. Personally, I thought Melora Walters nailed her character quite convincingly, good job! Debra Winger played her character very well and Letts was not bad, just not believable as the husband, not his acting just the way he looks in this film. Overall, the story was not that believable. I have to agree with others, sorry Mandy Hoffman, but the soundtrack was just awful. It did not set the mood at all and was almost torturous hearing it throughout the feature. The end of the story just did not make any sense at all.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

moviemitch96

May 27, 2017

What started out as an already tedious and snobbish film lost just about all credibility with me due to what I considered to be an unbelievably weak and unlikable ending with absolutely no payoff, which I also think is quite an accurate way of describing all of the characters in the film asWhat started out as an already tedious and snobbish film lost just about all credibility with me due to what I considered to be an unbelievably weak and unlikable ending with absolutely no payoff, which I also think is quite an accurate way of describing all of the characters in the film as well. In addition, the film and its premise felt ridiculously pedestrian throughout, and like I said before, none of the characters in this film were likable at all, and do nothing but make dumb, selfish decisions from start to finish. Overall, everything that I mentioned above made this feel like a pointless and unlikable film. The only thing that kept me from giving this film a slightly lower rating is some of the slightly interesting chemistry and scenes between Debra Winger and Tracy Letts, whom I both really like normally. Other than that, this film isn't really worth anyone's time if you ask me.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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