I wasn’t sure what to expect going into Silver Linings Playbook, but after watching it’s going on my top
ten movie list-of all times. From
the very beginning you get this sense that Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) is not
crazy. Sure he has serious rage
problems and impulse control issues, but who isn’t crazy in their own way? He's so good in this role.
David O. Russell has an uncanny ability to give us deeply
flawed characters we can’t help but root for. Pat is the latest.
We meet him after an eight-month stint in a mental institution. The time away from the problems that
drove him there does nothing to satiate Pat’s love for his estranged wife. The indirect reason he went away in the
first place. He’s determined to
reunite with his wife although she has a restraining order against him.
As Pat tries to find his silver lining and have any chance
of a normal life, his family makes it very difficult. His dad, Pat Sr (Robert De Niro) clearly has psychological
issues of his own. His mother
Dolores (Jacki Weaver) seems at a loss as to how to make all her boys
happy. Further adding to the
family turmoil is a visit from Pat’s brother, Jake (Shea Whigham), who seems to
be doing very well and is a fully functioning member of society.
After seeing his friend, Ronnie (John Ortiz), Pat gets
invited to dinner. What he doesn’t
know is Ronnie’s wife Veronica (Julia Stiles) has invited her sister Tiffany
(Jennifer Lawrence). We pick up on
the fact that this is a set-up but it takes Pat too long to figure it out. Pat’s inability to have a polite conversation is on full
display as we find out Tiffany has experienced her own set of life
circumstances that are anything but enviable. She makes inappropriate advances when Pat walks her home but
this gets him thinking. Tiffany
proceeds to “stalk” Pat in an effort to start a friendship that he at first
wants no part of but later realizes could be a huge help in getting his wife
back.
Everyone in the movie is amazing. Amazing. They
all turn in performances that are heart felt and very much deserving of Oscar
nominations. One scene in
particular with Cooper and De Niro is so genuinely raw it just blows you away. Jackie Weaver is the perfect balance
of presence and maternal interaction.
When she comes to pick-up Pat from the institution and they end up also
giving a ride to his friend and fellow patient Danny (exceptionally brought to life by
Chris Tucker), you can tell she just wants Pat to succeed. But she doesn’t know how to help.
Jennifer Lawrence always knocks it out of the park for
me. I love her. In hearing that Russell wasn’t even
seriously considering her for the part of Tiffany, I was floored. I don’t know what other actress could
have been more appropriate. You
fall under her spell because she’s too young to be so unsuspectingly wise. Anupam Kher serves as a more obvious
source of guidance for Pat. Their
relationship is amazing and their chemistry enjoyable.
I rarely love a movie as much as I did Silver Linings Playbook because a lot of movies are just stories
being told. I felt these actors
lived these lives and were these
people. I saw myself and my own
misguided attempts at achieving normalcy in these characters actions, and I
guess in some ways I hope I can come to a place where I realize we’re all just
doing the best we can every day.
And that has to be enough.