Azazel Jacobs “The Lovers” is a romantic comedy a failed marriage, two affairs and two individuals facing the next chapter in their lives with other people. An entertaining film overall.
TITLE: The Lovers
FILM RELEASE: 2017
DURATION: 94 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 1:85:1 aspect ratio, English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Subtitles: Spanish, English SDH
COMPANY: Lions Gate
RATED: R (Sexuality and Language)
RELEASE DATE: August 1, 2017
Written and Directed by Azazel Jacobs
Screenplay by James Ponsoldt, Dave Eggers
Produced by Ben LeClair, Chris Stinson
Music by Mandy Hoffman
Cinematography by Tobias Datum
Edited by Darrin Navarro
Casting by Nicole Arbusto
Production Design by Sue Tebbutt
Art Direction by Celine Diano
Set Decoration by Nancy Niksic
Costume Design by Diaz
Starring:
Debra Winger as Mary
Tracy Letts as Michael
Aidan Gillen as Robert
Melora Walters as Lucy
Tyler Ross as Joel
Jessica Sula as Erin
Lesley Fera as Susan
Three-time Academy Award® nominee Debra Winger stars in a deliciously grown-up comedy about love and marriage.
From Azazel Jacobs (“Terri”, “Momma’s Man”, “The GoodTimesKid”) comes his romantic comedy, “The Lovers”.
Starring Debra Winger (“Terms of Endearment”, “An Officer and a Gentleman”, “Urban Cowboy”), Tracy Letts (“Killer Joe”, “Bug”, “The Big Short”), Aidan Gillen (“Game of Thrones”, “King Arthur”, “The Wire”), Melora Walters (“The Butterfly Effect”, “Magnolia”, “Dead Poets Society”), Tyler Ross (“Zombieland”, “Nate & Margaret”, “Officer Down”) and Jessica Sula (“Split”, “Honeytrap”, “Skin”).
The film revolves around a married couple, Mary (portrayed by Debra Winger) and Michael (portrayed by Tracy Letts). Both have noticed there is no more passion in their marriage and both are having affairs.
Mary with Robert (portrayed by Aidan Gillen) and Michael with Lucy (portrayed by Melora Walters) and while the people they are having affairs with have been adamant that they dissolve the marriage, both agree that they will when their son Joel (portrayed by Tyler Ross) and his girlfriend Erin (portrayed by Jessica Sula) arrive.
But as these two are ready to separate and move on with their new relationships, somehow the two are able to have a spark and begin having passionate sexual encounters.
But will these two stay in their marriage or end their marriage and move on with their new lovers?
VIDEO:
“The Lovers” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1 aspect ratio). With a lot of scenes shot outdoors, the picture quality for the film is vibrant and looks great in HD. Closeups show good detail but for the most part, the film looks very good with no signs of artifacts or banding issues.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“The Lovers” is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and features crystal clear dialogue and music from Mandy Hoffman. Surround channels are utilized for ambiance but for the most part, this is a front-channel driven soundtrack.
Subtitles are in English SDH and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“The Lovers” comes with the following special features:
- Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by writer/director Azazel Jacobs.
- The Music of Romance: Scoring the Lovers – (13:50) A featurette about the making of the music for “The Lovers” with Mandy Hoffman and Azazel Jacobs.
- A Complicated Passion: The Making “The Lovers” - (19:15) A featurette on the making of “The Lovers”. Interviews with cast and crew.
EXTRAS:
“The Lovers” comes with the Blu-ray and an UltraViolet HD code.
Quite often when we watch relationships being torn apart and the protagonists in the broken relationship finding new love or each other, they are typically a couple who are much younger.
But what if the story centered on two long-married individuals who are in a bad marriage and are both having affairs.
This is what is explored in the romantic comedy “The Lovers” by filmmaker/writer Azazel Jacobs. Exploring life and love and just waiting for the right moment to divorce and that moment is when their son comes to visit.
Actress Debra Winger plays the wife, Mary, while Tracy Letts plays husband, Michael and both are in intimate affairs.
Mary is having an affair with Robert and Michael with Lucy, and both are often cajoled by their lovers to end their marriage and are getting tired of waiting.
As their son Joel pretty much was raised in a home where his parents fought and knows his father is having an affair, he is unaware that his mother is also having an affair.
And to make things more interesting, as Mary and Michael get closer to the date when they will tell their son the truth and how they are separating, a spark develops between estranged husband and wife and their affairs have triggered a passionate, sexual relationship within them.
But is that spark strong enough to keep them married? Or in their hearts, will they move on and start on a new relationship away from each other and with their new lovers?
For the most part, I found “The Lovers” to be a film about two long-married, dispassionate people who know their time together is not working. But what I found interesting and all I could think about was if this was a younger couple, I probably would have disliked this film with a passion.
But there is something about this film that I felt entertained. Yes, what these two are doing are wrong and how they break it to their son is very wrong but there is a small twist to this film as one would see in the final scene.
In the case of Mary and Michael, it’s very interesting on how their affairs have made them better lovers towards each other, but both know that they went to far into their affairs that their marriage is much more sexual than about love.
And I have to say that Debra Winger and Tracy Letts made this film work thanks to each of their performances and made this film much more enjoyable.
As for the Blu-ray release, picture quality is very good, considering that a lot of the scenes were shot outdoors, was a major plus. Lossless audio features crystal clear dialogue and music, and you get an audio commentary and two featurettes.
Overall, Azazel Jacobs “The Lovers” is a romantic comedy a failed marriage, two affairs and two individuals facing the next chapter in their lives with other people. An entertaining film overall.
