In polite conversation, Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper, The Words) might be described as ‘troubled’. In more clinical terms, he’s bipolar – his disorder recently manifesting in an explosion of violence against his adulterous wife’s lover, securing him an eight-month stay in a Baltimore mental hospital. After being released into the care of his mother (Jacki Weaver, The Five-Year Engagement) and obsessive-compulsive bookmaker father (Robert De Niro, Killer Elite), Pat is determined to become his best self and find positives in every situation; regardless of the predicament, he looks for the silver lining.
His quest is far from simple, despite his focus on reconciling his marriage. A restraining order keeps him away from his wife, yet he maintains that her love hasn’t faded. Enter Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games), the similarly unstable, widowed sister of his wife’s best friend (Julia Stiles, Between Us). Their friendship appears to inflate his anxieties and enable his obsession, but soon solace blossoms from their commonalities.
Silver Linings Playbook tries to be many things: an insight into mental illness, a realistic rom-com, a screwball throwback and a gender equaliser that traverses both sports and dancing. Juggling such a combination is not an easy or trivial task; thankfully, writer/director David O. Russell perfects the balance in this, his sixth feature. Injecting the quirkiness of I Heart Huckabees, the family craziness of Flirting with Disaster, and the underdog drama of The Fighter, he proves the ideal candidate to adapt Matthew Quick’s novel. Eschewing convention for complexity, then earning the clichés normally employed for convenience, the film becomes an intimate, intelligent delight under Russell’s guidance.
His central characters come complete with eccentricities, but not for comic purposes. Instead, their issues and circumstances ensure their ordinariness – it is their ownership of their failures and flaws that makes them extraordinary. Both Cooper and Lawrence understand this distinction, with their performances engaging and empathic. It is unsurprising that awards nominations have followed the duo, alongside in-form supports Weaver and De Niro; in his restless, uncomfortable mania, Cooper has never been better, while Lawrence’s droll yet fragile portrayal should earn the envy of actresses twice her age.
The characters’ dysfunction and distress never strays into melodrama, nor does the film’s levity undermine its serious comedy status. Boasting a sense of theatricality, it is instead measured and earnest even as it is equally strange and subversive. Recognising that humour and humanity accompany the most heartfelt and heartbreaking moments, Russell is precise yet unpredictable in his story. His meticulousness is also evidenced in the structure, ensuring that none of feature’s 122 minutes – joyous dance sequence and cosy Hollywood ending included – are wasted.
The end result is inventive, intriguing and always entertaining. As a portrait of troubled souls, it is tender and thoughtful; as a love story, it revitalises the genre with its raw emotion; as an actor’s showcase, it champions career-best efforts; as a package, Silver Linings Playbook is a genuine crowd-pleaser.
Rating: 4 ½ stars out of 5
Silver Linings Playbook
Director: David O. Russell
USA, 2012, 122 min
In cinemas January 31
Advance screenings this weekend in selected cinemas
Distributor: Roadshow
Rated M
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