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?

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.

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.

THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT

THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT
Written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
Starring Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt and Alison Brie


Susie Barnes: You know I don’t believe in kids and marriage and shit but when I see the two of you together, I get what the whole situation is about.

A comedy called THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT promises a cute couple who will inevitably run into a number of obstacles on their way to the alter. You half expect disasters with the florist, catastrophes with the caterer and unexpected happenings to happen just in time to postpone the wedding a little while longer. Instead, what you get in the Nicholas Stoller (FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, GET HIM TO THE GREEK) version of this movie, is one where only one thing gets in the way of the titular engagement becoming a wedding - life. And this particular life is likely a lot more real than you would ever guess.

Tom and Violet (Jason Segel and Emily Blunt) are absolutely adorable with each other on screen. They met on New Year’s Eve at a costumed superhero party of sorts and then are engaged a year later on the same night. He is a promising sous-chef on the hot San Francisco restaurant scene and she is a bright academic, who is awaiting placement at a prominent San Francisco university to pursue her doctorate. They are the envy of their friends and family and why shouldn’t they be? They have the real deal, the kind of love that is increasingly only found in the movies. Segel and Blunt make you believe you can still find a love like this in real life even in today’s cynical times and this is partly thanks to all the real life garbage that these two get dealt that derails their wedding plans. Trouble with the seating arrangement is one thing; figuring out how to compromise in a relationship so that both parties are happy with their lives, now that’s a whole other trick to master.

The hard times Tom and Violet go through on their way to their wedding make THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT a much more sombre comedy than one would expect. Still, when its funny, it is uproarious. It’s hard not to be with such an incredibly strong supporting cast, from Chris Pratt and Alison Brie, as the disastrous counter couple to Tom and Violet, who seem to get everything right without even trying, to recent Oscar nominee, Jacki Weaver, as the driest of future mother-in-law’s that there ever was. Director, Stoller, along with his writing partner, Segel, continue to prove that they can find great laughs in some of life’s more sobering experiences. And in doing so here, they prove how little significance a wedding truly has when weighed against the marriage itself.