The Lovers

A middle age couple are in the throes of an affair. Both of them.

The subtleties of a middle age relationship will be wasted on the young. Having read the negative reviews here, there's no doubting the reviewer's age. They've completely missed the point. That's fine. It's not for them. I may have felt the same way, once.

For everyone else, this is subtle, poignant, witty, truthful and very funny. It takes you to places you expect, in a natural but charming way and then surprises you. It's a very delicate balance, pulled off beautifully by writer and director.

And what a superb cast. All four of the main parts are played to perfection. These are no hacks. A top notch class act. The Lovers is a wonderfully fresh film for a mature audience. About time.

This light, breezy comedy starring Debra Winger and Tracy Letts follows a husband and wife--both of which are having an extramarital affair. As the film progresses, they begin to discover clues and eventually find out that they are both seeing someone else. Through a clever incorporation of dramatic and situational irony throughout the narrative, viewers will learn what will happen to their marriage. The acting in the film is generally very good, as Winger and Letts play their roles with charisma and a solid amount of passion and effort. The script is generally well-written and very down-to-earth. At a relatively fleeting 94 minutes, the plot moves along swiftly and is generally paced quite well. The aesthetic technique of the film is very simple in nature, with a violin-based score and relatively few set pieces. None of that, however, takes away from the viewer's experience watching the film. However, I do have a few criticisms of the film. My biggest complaint is that the use of parallelism in scenes that trade off between depicting Winger's character and Letts' character was often distracting. Additionally, the climax and ending feels a little rushed. That said, this is a solid and enjoyable independent film. Recommended. 7/10

Being of the older generation, I thought I would like this film more than I did.

Debra Winger and Tracy Letts are a married couple with each having an affair and continually postponing telling the other that they're leaving. Thus, they're also stringing along their lovers being unable to fully commit one way or the other. Somehow, this rekindles Winger and Letts' passion for each other sexually.

The movie is very slow-paced, has many awkward moments, but it does contain some deadpan humor that works at times. The film's characters are mostly unlikable and thus I was never really able to invest emotionally in them or really care what happened to them in the end.

Overall, a disappointment to me.

This film tells the story of a married couple, who stopped loving each other. They respectively have affairs, and both plan to leave their spouse. They go through much soul searching when their son comes back home for a few days.

"The Lovers" is a story that people can relate to. What is particularly interesting is that they both have affairs, and both are pressurised by their lovers to leave their family. Their struggles are well portrayed, and it is not easy to make their decisions because deep down there is still a spark lurking somewhere. I liked watching "The Lovers", and the ending is particularly satisfying.

I thought this would escalate much better than it did. It had potential if given in a totally different way. Slow paced and disappointing. Too bad.