First things first, Jennifer Lawrence is absolutely the first reason why one must watch this movie. That girl is pretty, she is smart, is immensely talented and oh boy is she is a smoking hottie! And yes for women there is Bradley Cooper. (Yawn)
SLP gives an appearance of being just another silly romantic-comedy that is funny at first, then becomes all gooey and nauseating in the middle and ends with a kiss under the moonlight at the end when all differences are sorted and the two leads say sorry to each other. (Yawn) But then calling this as a rom-com would mean calling Star Wars as a small science fiction movie or Jaws as a fishing movie or Forrest Gump as a history channel show. SLP is much more and the fact that it’s a little more unexpected than the usual makes it even better.
The movie starts off with Dolores Solatano (Jackie Weaver, who completely deserved her nomination and is on a sort of roll with getting two nominations in the past three years) gets her son Pat (the multi-faceted Bradley Copper who has really come a long way from his Hangover days) discharged from a mental institution. Pat was ordered in there for his severe assault on the lover of his wife whom he catches whilst they were IN the ACT!! (Can ya blame him now?) Anyway the courts don’t see it that way and diagnose him as a bi-polar, sentencing him to be institutionalized for a minimum period of 8 months. Dolores can’t bear the separation from her son and against medical advice and without the knowledge of her husband Pat Solatano Sr. (the highly talented Robert Di Niro, who himself is suffering from OCD and has resorted to becoming a bookie to earn a living), brings him back home to live with them right at the end of the eight months.
Pat has lost everything he once had, no job, no money and no love. Thus once released he is more than happy to be home and wants nothing more than to get back with his estranged wife Nikki (Brea Bee who barely had more than 2 lines in the entire movie and thus can’t be commented upon). Nikki though has put a restraining order against him. Pat has been asked to remain on medication, but he refuses to take them since they make him feel woozy. Pat believes in the getting better by healthy living and by looking for the “silver linings” that make life worth living. (Best lines in the entire movie)
A few extras in the movie showcase how people who are actually worse off than him but haven’t yet been institutionalized. His father, his best friend Ronnie (John Ortiz), who is a man being passively bullied by his over controlling wife Veronica (Julia Stiles), and Veronica’s widowed sister Tiffany Maxwell (the so gorgeous Jennifer Lawrence *smitten*) . Tiffany is a recovering sex addict and this is where the movie beings its real story. Thus I shall not dive into the movie any further.
David O. Russell has this unbelievable knack of bringing out a relationship and the chemistry between two leads to the large screen in a level where all of us watching the movie can begin to feel it as something very tangible. ”The Fighter” and the equation between Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg is a classic example of that and now he has even bettered himself with the tough love-hate-frenemy kind of equation between Pat and Tiffany. The love/hate friendship between the two lead characters based primarily on what help the other can provide in achieving their individual goals. How they try to help each other, how they form their bond and how the actual silver linings begin to appear in both of their lives has been beautifully captured and showcased. He might have missed out on the Oscar, but if he keeps this up he definitely will win one soon enough.
SLP is one of the most beautifully scripted and well made movies and touches a very tough to comprehend topic of people suffering from bi-polar disorder. The only drawback was that it was a little predictable, but then I guess at times we really need the happy endings don’t we?
This is definitely a movie worth seeing this year. They story may revolve around a troubled family in a depressing position under the midst of a very serious situation, but the ability to depict it in a manner we can connect with and ensure none of us get depressed watching it is what makes this worth a watch. Witty liners, no pull back dialogues, and the actors really giving it their all, (the top 4 all got Oscar nominations) ensures that you get your money’s worth. Silver Linings Playbook is a wonderful movie and although it’s a tad late do try and catch the movie if you can.
Thoughts! 