The Lovers

Whatever could go wrong did go wrong during the making of Roland Joffé's action-adventure-romance epic. Unfolding across multiple centuries and continents, this exotic tale begins in India with an ancient legend about a set of gold serpentine rings that signify true love. According to mythology, lovers united by the two halves of the magical ring are destined to be together forever. Cut to contemporary times, as marine archeologist Jay Fennel (Josh Hartnett) is rendered unconscious in an underwater diving accident while rescuing his wife Laura (Tamsin Egerton) as the couple were exploring the wreckage of an 18th-century merchant ship that sank on the Great Barrier Reef. As Jay lies in a comatose dream state in a Boston hospital, his subconscious mind travels back to 1778 Bombay, when India was under Colonial rule, and Jay was a Scottish soldier named James Stewart. During some inexplicable Anglo-Maratha conflict involving the British East India Company, James embarks on a perilous mission that leads to romantic involvement with female warrior Tulaja Naik (Bollywood superstar Bipasha Basu), who is destined to betray the man she loves. Working from a story by Ajey Jhankar, writer-director Joffé spent many years on this convoluted project (originally, Brendan Fraser and Neve Campbell were to play the husband-and-wife, but dropped out as years passed and financing faltered). Unfortunately, The Lovers lacks any meaningful connection between its two timelines. Optional, at best. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (13 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)