Genre: Drama
Directed: Azazel Jacobs
Stars: Debra Winger, Tracy Letts, Aiden Gillen, Melora Walters, Tyler Ross, Jessica Sula, Lesley Fera, Eric Satterberg, Janine Mitchell
Production: A24
Infidelity in cinema is nothing new. Much like the boiling conflicts of war or the inevitable fissures of generations old and new, the inherent drama of infidelity has always been one of those clear cut and elemental driving forces that has the immediacy to color an entire movie. Reaction to it is almost automatic and the story, depending on who's telling it always seems to virtually write itself. Yet in the case of The Lovers, infidelity is less the flash of conflict as it is the strangely reserved starting point to a story about human peculiarities.
The esteemed Debra Winger and acclaimed playwright/due paying bit actor Tracy Letts play Mary and Michael, a middle-aged married couple whose loveless marriage is nearing its dispassionate end. Both barely hide their constant trysts with their respective inamoratos, both of whom are artists and both of whom remind Michael and Mary of who they once were. In the weeks before their estranged son Joel (Ross) is to visit, both simultaneously resolve to end their marriage. Yet as they come closer to the brink of separation, eros takes a hold of them, leading to an impulsive romance.
The beauty of The Lovers is it twists and turns in surprising yet painfully human ways. Every time you think you have a firm understanding of the characters at play, something unexpected yet so emphatically human breaches through and the movie gainfully searches for a new dynamic. It's all to our delight. Behind the film's reserved almost dusty demeanor lies a barely hidden heart threatening to burst at the seams. The film for the most part stays true to its quiet composure. Yet in a few key moments the movie almost seems to glitter with the emotional resonance reserved to it welling romantic score.
Azazel Jacobs |
I don't want to end up like you (sob, slams door) |
Thanks to the unforced earnestness of Winger and Letts (and an oddly perfect song selection), The Lovers finds it within itself to bounce back like a seasoned dancer after a minor trip. What results, may not be the most well-observed study of needy, perilously unhappy people. Yet considering how counterfeit a lot of movies feel nowadays it's nice to see something that attempts to find the audacity in the littlest of moments.
Final Grade: B-
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