Silver Linings Playbook

They say a critic shouldn't get personal and should maintain a sort of distance from a particular movie in order to remain objective and not to get too passionate about certain things. What I think is wrong with this particular expectation is that it forgets that the reviewer is also a regular moviegoer when it comes to a particular film and their opinion receives more attention because they have better terms to describe what others feel about a picture.

So, should I aspire to become a "good critic" and give up being passionate about a certain film just for the sake of more appreciation? It’s true, I’m closely affected by the subject of Silver Linings Playbook and that can cause two things, depending on how I react to it: a) I completely reject it because I feel that the way the movie portrays its subject is way out of reach, over-the-top and theatrical, b) I develop a sweet spot for it instantly because I get more of the „inside jokes” of it. In this particular case, it’s more of the latter: there came a certain point in the movie after which I couldn’t maintain that distance from the movie and was immediately taken by its beautiful way of telling the story of Pat, a bipolar man who tries to find a new beginning in his life after a horrible incident by getting back to her wife.

What I instantly impressed me about Silver Linings Playbook is the delicate way David O. Russell approached this subject: you can feel that the story is personal for him and he didn’t turn to cheap theatrics even in the most over-the-top scenes in the film. The directing, writing and the editing add up to a dazzling, unbalanced and bizarre experience, surprising you way too much. The whole roller coaster feeling of the film makes it one extended, haunting manic episode.

However, Russell holds this chaos together thanks to the outstanding work of an exceptional cast, led by an amazing Bradley Cooper who reached an unexpected (to many) career high with the character of Pat. He has two key scenes in the movie, which could have become standard meltdowns made for an Oscar clip, but instead they are both extremely terrifying and heartbreaking (I’m talking about the one at home and the one in front of the cinema). The way he shows the over-the-top hysterics of the character, while also crying for help silently in his eyes is astonishing. If people weren’t so snobbish about romantic comedies as they are today, this character would become just as iconic as Alvy Singer, but alas, people look down on films like this. Moreover, the frequent criticism of gender inequality is constantly proven wrong by Cooper who clearly puts an emphasis on how much Pat also depends on Tiffany.

Since I’m going to review Jennifer Lawrence very soon, I’m saving my lengthy comments on her performance, but let me just say that she’s an essential part of an amazing ensemble whose every member is able to create three-dimensional characters, even with their limited parts. De Niro gets the most showy part and uses all the opportunities to have fun and also prove that he didn’t lose his acting chops somewhere around Meet the Fockers. And I’ll have to defend Jacki Weaver’s nomination: her character’s caring and loving presence undeniably uplifts the movie and provides us with some of the loveliest moments. I don’t think she’s worse than her fellow nominees (in my opinion, she captures a mother’s love way better than our actual winner-to-be). Even Chris Tucker is able to display his skills in small part, which he rarely gets to do. The members of the cast should really win that SAG Ensemble Prize come Sunday for their contribution to creating the bittersweet and yet magical atmosphere of Silver Linings Playbook.

However, to embrace and enjoy all of the aspects of the movie you really need to leave behind your cynicism and try to believe that a movie with a “silver lining” can actually be just as worthy of being considered a masterpiece as one about decaying human beings. After all, cinema has to capture reality and reality always offers us a silver lining. And why couldn’t Silver Linings Playbook become that particular silver lining? 

What do you think?

Best Actor 2012: Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook

Bradley Cooper received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Patrick "Pat Jr." Solitano in Silver Linings Playbook.

Silver Linings Playbook is a very enjoyable film about a man recently released from a mental institution who moves back in with his parents and attempts to reconcile his marriage even things get complicated by a troubled young widow Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who he befriends.

Bradley Cooper here portrays the troubled man Pat Jr. whose life is in shambles after a violent break down from finding out his wife was cheating on him. This is apparently a change of pace for Cooper whose previous films tended to be lighter weight or "dumber" comedies, I say apparently because I really have not seen these films. Anyway this is indeed a comedy, but with serious elements to it. The most serious element of the film really lies within Bradley Cooper's portrayal of Pat. Playing a mentally troubled individual is place where an actor certainly can go over the top or unrealistic in their portrayal though this is definitely not a problem for Bradley Cooper here.

Cooper takes on the mental disturbance part of his performance with a surprising degree of assurance in his portrayal of this. Cooper begins the film showing him to be a man who has not fully recovered from his breakdown but there has been some recovery from him. Bradley Cooper is very effective by internalizes so well in these scenes that show him to be on edge and which affect his overall behavior. Cooper is very good in portraying the deep seeded rage that is within his eyes that has not gone away from his original violent reaction to the traumatic moment in his life. Cooper creates just the right amount of uneasiness in his performance that allows Pat to be both man trying to remake himself, but as well could easily fall back.

An early effective moment of Cooper's is when he first goes to visit his therapist after leaving the institution and hears the same song from his wedding as well as when he found out about his wife's adultery. This is tricky moment in which Pat gets set off by the music which is a trigger of his. Cooper is extremely good in this scene as he portrays the quick breakdown honestly. He shows the attempts to resist his reaction, but as well just the savage intensity that comes from bringing back the memories of his trauma. Bradley Cooper plays the scene very well through the whole breakdown and he handles his attempt to put himself back together quickly in a moving fashion.

In all of the scenes early in the film where Pat has serious problems coping with his issues Cooper always resists any urge to overact in the least. He is extremely effective in both of his early breakdowns getting across the emotional stress his character is feeling beautifully. He not plays it up, instead he finds the emotional truth within his character, rather than letting just be an excuse for him to "act". A particularly great moment is when he pushed around and could become violent again. Cooper is just fantastic in this scene as he silently shows exactly what Pat is going through right in his face as he tries to keep himself in check even as he is pained to do so.

One of the big aspects of his character though is the way he seems to say just about anything that comes in his head no matter how unfitting it might be to a particular situation. Again Cooper does this in a surprisingly natural fashion that does not feel like some sort of wacky character trait, but rather just the approach that Pat must take to be able to deal with his life. He makes this unabashed quality to Pat really work in favor of his characterization, and that it is just one of his ways he is trying to cope with his problems. Although I would not necessarily say that it is quite an endearing part of him, but he is able to make it appropriately natural aspect of the character which works well.

Cooper is the one and only true lead in the film. I say this because although Pat's relationship to Tiffany is central to the film, so is Pat's relationship with his family. Cooper is the absolute center of the film and as so he is the one who really must work all the other different character's together, which he does do. He plays well with both Jacki Weaver as his mother which is a purely warmth filled relationship as well as with his father played by Robert De Niro. With De Niro he shapes a more complex relationship but manages to realizes both the highs and lows of their father son relationship in equal measure. When they are fighting and when they are showing their love for one another he and De Niro hit just the right notes.

With all the other character who pop in and out of the film some who are perhaps a little too expressive at times could easily become problematic but they don't and I think the reason why it doesn't become a problem is due to Bradley Cooper. He is in pretty much every scene and almost everyone has to act against him. Cooper though acts always as a sort of a balancing act to all and does it incredibly well making the various character's do their things in their humorous fashion, and Cooper either adds to it through the bluntness of Pat he brings out so well at times. Cooper as well through his surprisingly down to earth portrayal, surprising because he is playing a character who is bi-polar, honestly allows some of those other flamboyant portrayals.

Of course the central relationship is Pat's relationship with Tiffany. Cooper and Lawrence are quite good together and just have some natural chemistry works very well. There is technically speaking the usual romantic comedy staple of the two clearly being for each other, but certain things keeping them apart. Well in far lesser romantic comedy it is usually not character based, and is always that contrived lie device. This film is much better and instead creates the hesitations from the characters particularly due to Pat. One thing that Pat believes for most of the film is that he can get back with his wife. Cooper is very good in showing that this feeling is what really keeps Pat on a purely friend basis with Tiffany, and he believably shows this persistent foolish belief Pat holds.  

Rather than show it as this big romance it is shown as more of growing friendship between the two with subtle indications by Cooper of it growing into more. This handle almost silently by Cooper and he does it especially well. For example in the last scenes of the film we see Pat's reaction to seeing his wife again but as well as he sees Tiffany. Cooper is outstanding the way he reflects the change in Pat in this scene and how he finally lost his hopeless faith for his wife moving instead to realizes his love for Tiffany. When he finally does admit his love for Tiffany, it really works effectively because of how much it was earned beforehand by Cooper's subtle depiction of these feeling.

This is an excellent performance by Bradley Cooper and shows a great deal of ability from the actor. In a part that so easily could have been overacted, Cooper stays believable throughout even when being humorous. With a character that could have been easy to hate, Cooper makes Pat very likable man even with his troubles. In a film where there could be very serious problems involving the tone of the films considering the tricky subject of mental illness along with the fact that it uses it in context with a romantic comedy it is astonishing that it does not all go very wrong, and one of the biggest reasons it works is Cooper's great performance in the center film that takes just the right approach and finds the perfect tone for the film.

Best Actor 2012

And the Nominees Are:

Denzel Washington in Flight

Hugh Jackman in Les Miserables

Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln

Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook

Joaquin Phoenix in The Master 

Well do to the fact that I have no way of watching the Master at the moment, but I still am itching to review the performances nominated this year so I will continue on to Best Actor.

Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playbook, 2012
Directed by David O. Russell

Pat has just been released from a mental ward after spending 8 months there. A full grown man, Pat is sent to live with his parents under court orders, and set to take medication and go to therapy. While Pat is happy to be out, all he wants to do is see Nikki, his wife. But no one will talk about her, or let Pat see her. Pat has become an optimist, a true believer in "silver linings". So he tries to better himself, physically and intellectually for Nikki. But then he meets Tiffany, another girl with problems. And when she offers to deliver a letter to Nikki, Pat ends up making a deal with her, to dance with her at a local dance competition, something she's always wanted to do.

I read the book, by the same name, by Matthew Quick back in the winter in anticipation for this film. Having only read the summary of the film IMDB gave me, it sounded funny, and tracked down the book at my local library. And of course, it was such a phenomenal book. It was hilarious, and real, slightly cliche, but original at the same time! The only hindrance to reading a book and falling in love with it as that you'll expect the movie to be the book and sit through it being like "why did they change that? what was the point of that?"

Thus is kind of what happened upon seeing Silver Linings Playbook over the weekend. However, I will not talk too much about the pointless changes they made, the movie was still incredibly well done and well acted and funny.

I have never had a lot of hope in Bradley Cooper. He's never acted in anything to really give me much confidence in him as a serious actor. When I saw he was cast in SLP, I was a little "meh" about it, but got over it. Having now seen the movie, I'll say for the first time something I didn't think I'd say: "Bradley Cooper really impressed me in this movie!" He really captured Pat so well. He gave him the right sensitivity, but balanced with enough wit and humor to make him real. His emotional scenes, mostly the ones with him having breakdowns and slowly descending into hysteria, where wonderfully done. I'm really impressed with him!

Also, Jennifer Lawrence was not someone who I'd have cast. Tiffany is supposed to be in her 30s in the book, and supposed to be (if I remember correctly) Veronica's older sister, not younger. However, upon seeing her acting in this film, it's so clear why Lawrence was cast. She really captured Tiffany. Tiffany could've easily been some sort of cliche character with not a lot of depth, but Jennifer Lawrence was able to give her depth and humor, but also that we were able to sympathize for her. Additionally, I had been nervous that the age difference between Lawrence and Cooper (15 years difference, by the way) would be really weird. But Cooper was able to seem much younger (I already didn't believe he was 37 when I just googled his age), and Lawrence seemed much older than her mere 22 years.

I could easily keep going on the acting in this film. Robert De Niro gave Pat's father depth, and played him so well. Jacki Weaver was also great and was a nice addition to the cast.

Overall, the movie was well made, the script was well written and it was cute, quirky and funny. It has bits for everyone. It has romance for rom-com fans, Jennifer Lawrence (for Hunger Games fans, and  for the guys), Bradley Cooper, football, dancing, and humor. It's an unconventional romantic comedy that David O. Russell only could've done.

While I need a second viewing to really believe in this film as a film, and not keep thinking about "why?" when they changed things from the book, it was a really great movie.

Jennifer Lawrence will definitely be big competition for Leading Actress, and seems to be the current front runner. Robert De Niro is also expected to make it into the top 5. While I'd love to see Bradley Cooper get some love for his role as Pat, we'll see whether this will happen. This film is almost gauranteed to make the Best Picture Nominations, having won the People's Choice Award at TIFF. Will also probably crack into the Adapted Screenplay nominations and could swipe into Director, anything else is really up in the air.

8/10

277. Silver Linings Playbook

277. (17 Nov) Silver Linings Playbook (2012, David O. Russell)* 31



Grating and mind-numbingly pandering, there's not a single genuine moment to be found in Silver Linings Playbook. There is, at least, the effervescent presence of Jennifer Lawrence, who at least elevates every scene she's in. But she's the only one bringing nuanced work alongside actors who are pure caricature. Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver, in particular, could hardly be in worse form, offering performances without the slightest hint of humanity in them.

David O. Russell's script is pure amateurism. He feels the need to cram all of his small ensemble into every scene, even when they have no place there (e.g. the psychiatrist at the football game, the cop at the dance competition). This gives the false sense that people from all walks of life are bonding when, in fact, this underscores the phoniness. And what could be further from reality when, out of nowhere, someone shouts to a busload of Philadelphia Eagles fans who happen to be Indian, "Go back to your own country! The Eagles are our team!"

The gags here are about as subtle, revolving around something as stupid as a mispronunciation of Trazodone. The so-called drama includes a manic episode where Cooper freaks out about his missing wedding video. Such scenes are painfully out of place considering the serious tonal shift it requires from broad comedy, but it emphasizes just how bad Cooper is in the lead. It's all the more reason why I'm certainly overrating Lawrence, who at least can read a line without seeming like she's in a high school play.

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES
Written by Derek Cianfrance, Ben Coccio and Darius Marder
Directed by Derek Cianfrance
Starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes and Ben Mendelsohn

Derek Cianfrance made a big splash on the indie film scene a few years back with his heartbreaking drama, BLUE VALENTINE. Many thought that he had captured the breakdown of a troubled relationship so perfectly, including myself. I also thought that, as brave a filmmaker as he was to go to the dark places people rarely go to themselves, he did relish his time there a bit more than he needed to. He returns with another disturbing tale, THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, and this time, he takes on a lot more and gets a little lost in his own darkness.

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES is a conventional three-act film that tries very hard to be as non-traditional as possible. Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper, both strong and compelling, play new fathers. Gosling is a total mess, covered in tattoos and wearing rotten shirts inside out to appear as though he is trying to clean himself up. Contrarily, Cooper is as polished as they come, the son of a former judge and a promising rookie cop. They are on opposite sides of the law and their lives become intrinsically connected in ways that I cannot describe without spoiling the plot. Suffice it to say that the mistakes of the fathers are passed on to the next generation and the choice to rectify or continue them is set upon the young.

Cianfrance structures the film in such a way that I think he thinks makes THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES original and daring. Personally, I felt that, by the time Cianfrance reveals to the viewer where he’s going with everything in the second act, he makes it painfully obvious where everything will end up in the third act, which is marred by poor performances on the part of the film’s younger actors. There is an air on the part of the filmmaker that he knows better than the viewer, but I think most viewers will see that his gimmicky structure only really reveals that he doesn’t fully have a handle on his own material.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Written and Directed by David O. Russell
Starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro

Pat Solitano: She is my friend with an F.
Danny: Capital F.
Pat Solitano: Yeah, for friend.

The one thing I took away from David O. Russell’s SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK is that you have to deal with the bad in order to get to the good stuff. Always focusing on the silver lining never gives you the opportunity to face your demons and allows them the chance to grow while you’re looking the other way. Russell makes an apt point here as applying this theory to watching this film is really the only way to enjoy it.

There is one other thing I learned while watching this film, that Bradley Cooper has the potential to take on stronger, more dramatic parts. Cooper plays Pat Solitano, whom we meet moments before he exits a mental facility, where he is being treated for bipolar disorder, convincing himself aloud that he’s better now. It is never really clear to either of his fantastically fussy parents, played by Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver, whether he truly is any better but they take him in regardless. Meanwhile, it never needs to be made clear to Pat’s new friend, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), because she is often just as messed up as he is. Together they learn to heal each other ... through amateur dance?

Considering how visceral Russell went last time out with his Oscar-nominated work on THE FIGHTER, I am genuinely surprised by how tame SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK is. A fantastic ensemble elevates Russell’s screenplay, with moments both touching and amusing, but never to the point where it breaks free of its more conventional trappings. But when you weigh the film’s faults against it’s own silver linings, its still worth the experience.

LIMITLESS

Written by Leslie Dixon

Directed by Neil Burger

Starring Bradley Cooper Abbie Cornish and Robert De Niro

Carl van Loon: So Eddie Morra, what's your secret?

Eddie Morra: Medication.

Drugs are bad. While that is generally the rule, how can anything that allows you to access the full potential of your brain actually be bad for you? Well, it can if the mere idea of it inspires a film as base as LIMITLESS. This Bradley Cooper starring vehicle (Cooper also executive produced the project) certainly places the budding Hollywood star front and center for all to see and admire, but when you’re surrounded by as much garbage as Cooper is in this film, you eventually stink just as bad.

Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a writer who doesn’t write, a man who barely appears to shower. Through happenstance, he runs into a former in-law and former drug dealer, only the latter is actually not so former. This is how Eddie comes to start taking NZT. He thinks its F.D.A. approved so we can’t really judge him, but he quickly finds out there is no way this drug is ever going to make it to market. NZT allows you to tap into the 80% of your brain that goes unused every day. The resulting clarity allows Eddie to take everything he’s ever taken in, in his entire life, and make perfect sense of it in seconds. Needless to say, Eddie never intends to get off these drugs and soon finds out he might not have a choice in the matter.

Director, Neil Burger, coasts through LIMITLESS and rarely attempts to access any of his own greater potential. Visual trickery meant to signify the depths of Eddie’s thought processes and amplified abilities come off as not only gimmicky but tacky as well. All the same, the talent is passable (Robert De Niro and Abbie Cornish have scant parts compared to Cooper) and the moral question behind taking the drug to begin with is intriguing, but the climax of this film is so ridiculous and off-putting that it went, for me, from a time-filler to a complete waste of time. It’s ironic really how a film about untapped intelligence could be so utterly stupid. Or perhaps even more so, how a film called LIMITLESS could feel so limited.

THE HANGOVER PART II

Written by Craig Mazin, Scot Armstrong and Todd Phillips

Directed by Todd Phillips

Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis

Alan: I wish monkeys could Skype. Maybe one day.

I must begin by stating that I was not a big fan of THE HANGOVER, the 2009 comedy sensation that would go on to become one of the biggest R-rated successes in history and put director, Todd Phillips, on the map. My expectations going into the highly anticipated sequel were pretty low, as a result. I feel very confident in saying that this time around, I will not be in the minority with my distaste.

THE HANGOVER PART II opens exactly the same way the first one does and essentially plays out the same from there on in, except with significantly less laughter. This time out, Stu (Ed Helms) is getting married and his happy cohorts, Phil and Alan (Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis) are on board to attend the impending nuptials. An innocent beer on a beach in Thailand turns into a night of cataclysmically irresponsible and morally reprehensible behavior, that finds them all waking up in a Bangkok hotel room with zero recollection of how they got there and even less remorse for the damage they've done. It is then of course time to piece the evening back together again in order to find Stu’s future, teenage brother-in-law, Teddy (Mason Lee), whom the threesome have misplaced.

The original works because we’ve all been there before – well, maybe not quite there but at least some variation of that experience, where we cannot quite remember what went down the night before. Despite not being terribly likable characters, the audience can relate and wants to forgive them their foolishness, thus forgiving themselves. The fact that it has happened to them again only portrays the guys as people with serious drinking problems who have no regard for anyone other than themselves. By the time Stu declares that he can’t believe this is happening again, I would be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t agree while shaking their head in shame. I think it's time to get off the sauce, fellas.