The Lovers (2017)

“The Lovers” stars Debra Winger, Tracy Letts, Aidan Gillen, Melora Walters, Tyler Ross, and Jessica Sula.  Released on May 5, 2017, the film is about a couple who unexpectedly finds themselves falling in love with each other again.

The film is directed by Azazel Jacobs, who also directed films such as Nobody Needs to Know, Momma’s Man, and Terri.  Love can be a pretty awesome thing, but at the same time, it can be very complicated.  After experiencing the latest adventure on the high seas and spending more than two hours watching muscle-bound guys solve a mystery, I figured it would be nice for me to take a breather from the blockbusters this weekend and focus on one of the small indie films.  The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival last month, and was later released in the United States three weeks ago.  Better late than never, I suppose.  I only saw the trailer for it once while I was watching The Last Word with my mother and my grandmothers, and when it finally arrived at my cinema, my reviewing instincts quickly told me to go check it out, and that’s exactly what I did.  While it’s not one of my favorite films of the year, I couldn’t help but admit that it’s a pretty solid romantic comedy.

Pros:
The performances were solid from start to finish.  Debra Winger and Tracy Letts were great together as Mary and Michael, respectively.

Unique blend of awkwardness and romance.  The “awkwardness” moments delivered some decent laughs.

The screenplay was well-written in terms of its theme.

Jacobs’ direction was good.

Cons:
Its pacing made the film longer than it should.  

There were a couple of scenes that almost made the film lose its emotional momentum.

Final thoughts: “The Lovers” is a unique and well-told take on complicated love that’s filled with solid performances and an interesting screenplay.  It does have its usual sense of slowness and sadness like most indie films, but the way they express the film’s central theme managed to prevent its heart from splitting into two.  It’s hard for me to recommend this film to anyone due to its concept and its slow pacing.  However, I would say that it’s worth checking out if you’re a big indie film buff.

B