'The Lovers' Doesn’t Have a Whole Lot of Love

AMC/Sundance’s The Lovers is an odd beast. It’s a rom-com that is neither particularly funny nor particularly romantic. Instead, it employs a dry humor that doesn’t resolve in a good belly laugh so much as a nervous smile, as we get to know the two protagonists, starting with the lightweight media butterfly Seamus (Johnny Flynn). He’s TV star Seamus O’Hannigan (Flynn), living a charmed life in fashionable Islington, which he shares with his actor girlfriend Frankie (Alice Eve). Life is a never-ending series of social media opportunities and smiles, although we’re never quite sure that Seamus is as famous or hounded by the public as he’d like to think.

Then there’s the severely troubled Janet (Roisin Gallagher), a loose cannon in a dead-end job at a Belfast supermarket run by the long-suffering Philip (Conleth Hill). She is foul-tempered and foul-mouthed and, for some reason, still employed. In her first appearance, she insults security guard Jason (Martin Quinn) for wishing her a good morning. After that, she grabs a candy bar from the shelf, stamps on it, and eats it, claiming it’s damaged merchandise. Philip, longing for peace and contented customers, suggests she takes off the rest of the day. We realize later that he, knowing something of her history, is looking out for her, and the store and the garrulous presence of fellow worker Gemma (Jenn Murray) provide the safety of continuity and community she so badly needs.

The two find themselves on a crash course towards one another one day, as Seamus encounters an attractive woman outside his BBC office, and obligingly takes her phone for a selfie. It’s too bad that she’s his new producer, Ndidi (Evelyn Miller), although he recovers charmingly. His boss, Tim (Simon Paisley-Day), breaks the news that his show will be filmed in Belfast, and Seamus loses his composure. He does not like the idea of returning to his Irish roots, although it’s a BBC requirement, and he agrees.