Silver Linings Playbook

Now it’s not very often that I decide to watch a film that my Mum has suggested, but I had been interested in Silver Linings Playbook around the time of the Academy Awards, so I thought I’d give it ago. As I understand it, the film differs from the book quite a lot, but I’ll only talk about the film. Pat Solitano Jr. (Bradley Cooper) has just been released from a psychiatric hospital and is receiving treatment of bipolar disorder following the breakdown of his marriage. Through a friend of his he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who can help him reconcile with his wife, which is an obsession of his throughout the film. He agrees to perform a dance with her in return for her sending his wife letters.

Bradley Cooper does fantastically well playing a very difficult part. His character is very complex, not only with bipolar disorder, but with obsessive tendencies and a very tense home life. There might be some autistic elements to his character as well, but that might just be me overlaying some stuff on top of an already troubled character. I couldn’t help but react with strong tension to some of his character’s comments and his flippancy, and for Cooper to portray these so convincingly is very impressive. He is very believable in Silver Linings Playbook, and conveys the struggles of a man trying to recover from mental illness incredibly well. And in addition to this, the dancing parts he appears in are very impressive. I think that his role is made even more impressive by this element, because it adds a bigger element of dedication to the role, and so Bradley Cooper deserves a lot of credit for this part.

Jennifer Lawrence plays the equally troubled Tiffany who helps Pat seemingly re-connect with his wife. From early on in their relationship it is apparent that she has strong feelings for Pat and their initial meetings are very tense and awkward. Despite her psychiatric issues she often seems to be a rational force in the plot, and this highlights at times exactly how deep Pat’s issues are. She is very likeable, and there is a definite sense of ‘Oh damnit’ when Pat’s wife shows up and their dance event. She won the Best Actress at the Academy Awards for this role, and I think I was quite sceptical in my Academy Awards review about this decision. However, having seen Silver Linings Playbook now I don’t think it was too strange a decision. Throughout the film she is very entertaining and her dancing is even more impressive than Bradley Cooper’s in the final scene. She too is very dedicated to her role, and upon reflection deserves the glittering career that I tipped her to have.

Robert de Niro plays Pat’s father, Pat Sr., and is another very troubled character. He wants to open a restaurant and is bookmaking to earn the money. He has what seems to be an unhealthy obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles, and his devotion to this certainly raised my eyebrows. Regular readers should know about my deep love for de Niro, and I think once again he is fantastic in this part. He is quite incidental, but in typical de Niro style it is the little things that he does perfectly. His reactions are what impresses me the most. His response to Pat’s search for his wedding video and the incident that follows is brilliant, and best of all is his emotion when he think that his son’s problems may be his fault. It will never be considered to be de Niro’s best role, but replacing him with another actor would harm the film. He is a very superstitious character, and this is interesting because it seems that he is a similar character to his son, and but for circumstance they would both be in a similar boat.

There are a number of supporting characters in Silver Linings Playbook that all add a little bit more to the film. Jacki Weaver plays the mother of the family and does a very good job of making her character more than just a housewife. She adds a much more personal element to the role than I think anyone else would have done, and her understanding of both her son and her husband’s obsessions and her son’s illness is conveyed beautifully throughout. Chris Tucker makes an appearance as well, as Pat’s friend from the hospital, and is more of a source of humour than other characters.

I think Silver Linings Playbook is a film which not only boasts a fantastic cast and a fantastic plot, and I don’t want to prattle on about the cast. The nomination of Silver Linings Playbook for Best Picture raised a few eyebrows when it was announced, but I think it is perfectly justified. It is a feel-good film as much as anything else. It puts you through the wringer a bit with the awkwardness and tension created by Pat but when everything works out alright in the end it is heartwarming. The best bit of symbolism in the film is the contrast at the start and the end. At the start, Pat’s photo is not up in the house, whereas his brother’s is, however after the dance his picture is put up next to his brother, suggesting his parent’s have accepted his issues.

Personally I really enjoyed Silver Linings Playbook, and I would definitely recommend it. It is difficult to categorise, but it seems to be a feel-good film about two people with mental health issues resolving these problems through each other. With a fantastic cast and some brilliant scriptwriting this film becomes one of the better films I have seen from last year. Definitely one to watch if you can.