Romantic comedies have fallen somewhat out of fashion. Maybe because at some point the audience got tired of being told the same stories over and over again with only slightly different variations. Maybe because almost all romantic comedies propagate a conservative model of relationships that is no longer up to date. And David Ireland’s series “The Lovers” isn’t really suitable for making this genre hip again.
When Seamus (Johnny Flynn), the British political talk show host, flees an angry mob in Belfast, he ends up in the backyard of Janet, a Northern Irish supermarket worker who is about to shoot herself. After saving each other’s lives, the two fall in love, then they break up because of Janet’s past and then – surprise! – for reconciliation.
The best thing about the series is that you get to see a bit of Belfast, but the attempt to make the romantic comedy politically charged in the tradition of Ken Loach’s social dramas and to also deal with the history of the Northern Ireland conflict fails colossally. (sky)
Gunther Reinhardt