Silver Linings Playbook (B+ or 3/4 stars)
'Silver Linings Playbook' (adapted & directed by David O. Russell, I Heart Huckabees, The Fighter) uses bipolar disorder as a catalyst for romance. For most of the running time, the movie is about a character coping with his mental illness: taking or not-taking his meds, opening up to his therapist {so funny}, coping with his triggers (Stevie Wonder's My Cherie Amour), & trying to avoid getting too manic or too low. As the film opens, former high school teacher Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) is just getting out of a mental hospital where he has been confined for the past 8 months. He desperately wants to reunite with his wife Nicki, whose infidelity led to the breakdown that resulted in him being institutionalized. She has taken out a restraining order, which prevents him from physically hunting her down.
That's where neighborhood free spirit Tiffany Maxwell (Jennifer Lawrence) enters the fray. She's been battling depression since her husband was killed. And she admits to having sex with co-workers as a coping/numbing strategy. Although she seems to come across as (or more crazy) than Pat, she actually becomes the main reason for his gradual transformation. Tiffany agrees to deliver a letter from Pat to Nicki in return for a favor - she'd like him to be her partner in an upcoming dance competition. Meanwhile, Pat tries to make nice with his long-suffering mom (a warm Jacki Weaver) & crusty dad (Robert DeNiro). The latter is a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan & wants to forge a bond with his son by watching games with him. As Pat bulldozes through life with hell bent determination to win-back Nicki, he fails to realize how worried his parents are about him & that Tiffany harbors feelings that go much deeper than a quid pro quo friendship.
I enjoyed most of 'Silver Linings Playbook'. Tiffany is a HEAVILY flawed human being. But throughout the film, she proves to be a subtle, yet strong caregiver to Pat. She even helps him & his dad work through some of their conflicts. I also like that Cooper's character is well-developed. And Lawrence/Cooper exhibit enough chemistry. That said, one of the problems I have with this movie is that Pat never seems to be into Tiffany as much as she is into him. And so, while I appreciate seeing 2 protagonists claw their way from the bottom to a place of wellness, I wasn't wild about the romantic conclusion (at said dance competition).
Sure, Pat thinks Tiffany is hot. Maybe he's grown to like her. But he's been pining for his wife the whole movie. So any sudden change of heart felt forced. I also don't think the film paints a wholly accurate picture of people dealing with mental issues. And those issues recede during the last act to allow the trajectory of the film to become more conventional & uplifting. You get the sense that more intriguing thematic ground could have been tapped into. When you sense that more could have been done and the film already verged on being too long ... then you know that something is a tad off with the directing/editing.
I'm making this review sound like I liked the film less than I do. I really liked stretches of offbeat humor & dialogue (like Pat's 4 a.m. diatribe about Hemingway), Chris Tucker's hysterical mental ward pal of Pat, & DeNiro's engaging performance. But because the film tries to juggle disparate tones & neglects the mental illness component in the end, 'SLP' struggles to find a proper balance. All that said, I respect that the filmmakers manage to make a relatively intelligent & poignant film about 2 damaged souls who reject the depths of depression to discover something in each other more special than they could have ever anticipated.
That's where neighborhood free spirit Tiffany Maxwell (Jennifer Lawrence) enters the fray. She's been battling depression since her husband was killed. And she admits to having sex with co-workers as a coping/numbing strategy. Although she seems to come across as (or more crazy) than Pat, she actually becomes the main reason for his gradual transformation. Tiffany agrees to deliver a letter from Pat to Nicki in return for a favor - she'd like him to be her partner in an upcoming dance competition. Meanwhile, Pat tries to make nice with his long-suffering mom (a warm Jacki Weaver) & crusty dad (Robert DeNiro). The latter is a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan & wants to forge a bond with his son by watching games with him. As Pat bulldozes through life with hell bent determination to win-back Nicki, he fails to realize how worried his parents are about him & that Tiffany harbors feelings that go much deeper than a quid pro quo friendship.
I enjoyed most of 'Silver Linings Playbook'. Tiffany is a HEAVILY flawed human being. But throughout the film, she proves to be a subtle, yet strong caregiver to Pat. She even helps him & his dad work through some of their conflicts. I also like that Cooper's character is well-developed. And Lawrence/Cooper exhibit enough chemistry. That said, one of the problems I have with this movie is that Pat never seems to be into Tiffany as much as she is into him. And so, while I appreciate seeing 2 protagonists claw their way from the bottom to a place of wellness, I wasn't wild about the romantic conclusion (at said dance competition).
Sure, Pat thinks Tiffany is hot. Maybe he's grown to like her. But he's been pining for his wife the whole movie. So any sudden change of heart felt forced. I also don't think the film paints a wholly accurate picture of people dealing with mental issues. And those issues recede during the last act to allow the trajectory of the film to become more conventional & uplifting. You get the sense that more intriguing thematic ground could have been tapped into. When you sense that more could have been done and the film already verged on being too long ... then you know that something is a tad off with the directing/editing.
I'm making this review sound like I liked the film less than I do. I really liked stretches of offbeat humor & dialogue (like Pat's 4 a.m. diatribe about Hemingway), Chris Tucker's hysterical mental ward pal of Pat, & DeNiro's engaging performance. But because the film tries to juggle disparate tones & neglects the mental illness component in the end, 'SLP' struggles to find a proper balance. All that said, I respect that the filmmakers manage to make a relatively intelligent & poignant film about 2 damaged souls who reject the depths of depression to discover something in each other more special than they could have ever anticipated.