The Lovers (2017)

The Lovers (2017)

IMDB Rating :5.3/10(as on 24.04.2017)

Debra Winger and Tracy Letts play a long-married, dispassionate couple who are both in the midst of serious affairs. But on the brink of calling it quits, a spark between them suddenly reignites, leading them into an impulsive romance.

Director: Azazel Jacobs

Writer: Azazel Jacobs

Stars: Lesley Fera, Aidan Gillen, Tracy Letts

R | 1h 34min | Comedy

 IMDB linkHere

Movie rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟☆  

Debra Winger impresses in nuanced tale of infidelity

Benjamin Lee

For an extended period throughout the 80s and early 90s, Debra Winger was one of the most successful female actors in the industry, scoring three Oscar nominations and appearing in films, such as An Officer and a Gentleman, Terms of Endearment, and Shadowlands. But in 1995, after co-starring with Billy Crystal in Forget Paris, she took a hiatus. While she claimed it was a decision based on a simple desire for time off, many saw it as an indication of how Hollywood treats women over the age of 40, her choice of roles clearly drying up.

Finally, at the age of 61, she’s been gifted with a lead role once again, a character that we rarely see: an older woman with regrets, dreams, flaws and sexual desires. She stars as Mary, married but having an affair with tortured writer Robert (Aidan Gillen), and planning to leave her husband Michael (Tracy Letts) within the month. Michael is also having an affair, with fiery dancer Lucy (Melora Walters) and has similar plans to ask for a divorce. But as they both edge closer to supposed freedom, something strange happens: they start falling back in love with each other.

There’s a well-mined sub-genre of films about marital fatigue from Journey to Italy through to Blue Valentine, but writer/director Azazel Jacobs (also behind HBO’s underrated meta-comedy Doll & Em) offers up a fresh dynamic that shakes off gimmicky sitcom humor for something far more nuanced. Mary and Michael have reached a stage where intimacy has been replaced with unease, they’ve become strangers that know each other too well, forgetful of the uniquely written language that once breathed life into their interactions. It’s led them to look elsewhere for the thrill they no longer receive at home but, to crib a quote from Sarah Polley’s devastating relationship drama Take This Waltz, new things get old too.

It’s a hell of a role for Winger, her first lead for more than 20 years, and it acts as not only a showcase for her considerable talents but a reminder why women of her age deserve more screen time and respect. Her chemistry with Letts managing to convince through the difficulties and the joys.

While the script and performances embrace subtlety for the most part, there’s a rather ill-advised score that aims for an old-fashioned lushness but ends up being horribly intrusive. It’s distractingly at odds with the events taking place and annoys rather then excites through the various moments of romance. There’s also a disappointing swerve from nuance to histrionics in the final stretch, one particular scene involving the pair’s son landing with a thud. But it’s met with an intriguing final note. It’s one that can be perceived as sweet or sour, depending on your own relationship status, although its debatable as to whether Jacobs intended it to have such ambiguity. Rather like its central relationship, the film is messy and flawed yet painfully familiar.

Read full review at The Guardian