Silver Linings Playbook

It'll Be Alright

As someone diagnosed with a mild bipolar disorder and clinical depression, I can relate to some of this film's material. I don't have violent outbursts, or get angry because I didn't like the way a Hemingway book ended, nor say nearly as many of the inappropriate things these characters do, but I can relate to the general feelings of helplessness and anxiety. I smiled at an exchange between the two main characters about medications like seroquel, xanax, klonopin, and trazadone.

The first film by writer/director David O. Russell I saw was the predecessor to this film, The Fighter, which I greatly enjoyed, particularly due to its fantastic ensemble cast. Since then, I've seen several of his other features, and one common element between them all is a rich, unique, dynamic set of characters portrayed with fascinating intensity by talented actors, all of which culminates in a powerful ensemble of performances.

Silver Linings Playbook concerns two main characters: Pat (Bradley Cooper) and Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). Pat was recently released from a mental institution to which he was remitted when he nearly beat his wife's lover to death upon catching them together in the shower. He spent eight months in a mental institution, lost his job at the school (where his wife - Nikki - worked), and has now been released to live with his parents, albeit with numerous conditions from the court, such as therapy and a restraining order not to go near Nikki.

When Pat is invited to his friend's house, he is introduced to Tiffany, whose husband recently died. The dinner exchange between the two and their hosts is far from conventional, ending with Pat walking Tiffany home. She immediately suggests that he can fuck her if he wants, if they keep the lights off. He declines.

At the beginning of 2010, Jennifer Lawrence was an unknown name. I saw her in May of that year, at a very early screening of a wonderful little film called Winter's Bone, for which she went on to receive numerous accolades, including an Academy Award nomination. With Silver Linings Playbook, she proves herself to not be a one-hit wonder, and immediately becomes a prime contender for an Oscar statue. Her depiction of Tiffany is offensive, charming, fragile, explosive, and like Pat, she exhibits a great degree of (often unwanted) candor.

Bradley Cooper has never been a disappointing actor, but he's never given a stand-out performance. Here, he plays the part of Pat to perfection; he walks around looking like the weight of the world is on his shoulders, but doesn't acknowledge it. He wants to believe in a "silver lining," that things can be positive and work out if we want them to. Yet still, he's prone to violent outbursts; saying things that he will immediately defend, but minutes later realizes they were wrong to say. This behavior is highly accurate to those with severe bipolar disorder, a credit to Russell's screenplay. He's absolutely infatuated with the idea of winning back Nikki, much to the chagrin of everyone around him, including Tiffany, who has motives of her own.

The supporting cast is wonderful, particularly Jacki Weaver (who gave an amazing performance in Animal Kingdom) as Pat's mother, and Robert de Niro as Pat's father (Pat, Sr.), who gives his best performance in over a decade. Pat and Pat, Sr. aren't all that different; Pat. Sr. is banned from the Eagles stadium for getting in a fight a long while back. He spends his days making bets and planning for the opening of his own restaurant. He's hardly seen anywhere other than his living room or bedroom.

Silver Linings Playbook could have been underwhelming, schmaltzy melodrama in the hands of a lesser director, and particularly without the participation of such fine actors. The acting is so tuned and perfect that we forget we're watching something that's written. If I had one issue, it would be that the end is too neat and tidy for me. At one point, Pat reads a letter that says the books on Nikki's syllabus are good, even if dark, precisely because life is at times dark and doesn't end the way we want it to. Perhaps the film should have followed suit.

Nevertheless, The Silver Linings Playbook is an impeccably acted dramedy with some fine writing and direction on behalf of David O. Russell. It ushers in Lawrence as more than a one-time success, Cooper as an actor capable of emotion and drama, and gives de Niro his best performance in a good long while. 

3.5/4

(side note: a funny little touch - when Pat and Tiffany are arguing on the sidewalk in front of a movie theatre, the movie's title, seen in only one shot, is 'Midnight Meat Train,' a 2008 film Cooper starred in)