Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

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"Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must live."
- Charles Bukowski
I used to watch "Inside the Actors Studio" with James Lipton quite a bit, back when Bravo was more than just a dumping ground for fashion and public interest reality shows. One episode, Lipton had comedian Dave Chappelle on, fresh off his strange episodes after he ended  his Comedy Central sketch show. He had randomly flown to Africa to live for some months, forcing journalists and media outlets to label him negatively. Chappelle made a very interesting remark in his episode when talking about the negative environment of Hollywood that made a big impact on me: "The worst thing to call somebody is crazy. It's dismissive. I don't understand this person, so they're crazy." The truth is, maybe these people we call "crazy" have a little bit more sense than we give them credit for.


Silver Linings Playbook tells a messy story about a messy family, all centered around Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper). Pat has been released from a Baltimore mental hospital eight months after an incident where he caught his wife Nikki cheating on him, lost control, and nearly beat the adulterer to death. While in treatment, Pat is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, triggered by high stress. Despite his doctors' and therapist's suggestions, he decides the best way he can beat his illness and win back his wife is through hard work, exercise, and positivity.

Then he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). At first glance, she is a little too negative and high strung for Pat to handle but, when he realizes she is his only connection to his ex-wife, he decides to befriend her, eventually asking her to deliver a letter to Nikki. She agrees, but only if he helps her by partnering with her in a dance competition the week after Christmas. So, they rehearse daily, while Pat deals with his Philadelphia Eagles obsessed, compulsive small time bookie father (Robert De Niro) and the realization that exercise and a bright outlook may not be enough to help him prove his worth to Nikki.

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When I write out the plot, it sound a lot more ridiculous than it felt while watching the film. It's a weird, haphazardly strewn together story that somehow manages to work thanks to performances in the film. Writer/director David O. Russell adapted the film from the novel of the same name, the first book from author Matthew Quick. As we have been told numerous times throughout the award season, Russell's son suffers from some form of mental disorder and attended Devereaux Glenholme School in Washington, CT, which serves as much of the inspiration for the film. It's unclear what he suffers from, but it's irrelevant. What Russell has made is not a film about mental health. It's not a film about dealing with mental disorders. It's a film about how family and personal connections can help build some sense within everyone that, even with all the negativity in the world, everything will be okay, mental disorder or not.

Bradley Cooper's work as Pat is, without a doubt, the best work of his career. Cooper pulls some stilted nuance out of Pat, a man so uncomfortably positive and focused on his ex-wife that his slow descent is fascinating to watch. What we see is a man not being pulled up by his bootstraps, but pulled down from his hot air balloon. He's a rare of example of a man incredibly motivated to get well, however misguided his reasoning is. An optimistic outlook on life is always a good thing, but sometimes staring directly into the light of the world with your blinders on is every bit as "crazy" as the diagnosed disorders from his the character suffers. Cooper does a great job shifting deliberately between his moods, swinging in a believable manner without it coming off as cartoonish.

Then there's Jennifer Lawrence, a revelation of quirkiness that still manages to feel realistic. What Tiffany represents is an out for Pat. She begins as his channel to Nikki and becomes his friend and pseudo-therapist. Tiffany is a loose cannon, occasionally reeling still from the unexpected death of her husband. What makes their relationship so interesting is the complete lack of filter between the two. This is honesty at its core, however inappropriate it may be. Tiffany is a strong person, sometimes too much so. When Pat finds a way to control his emotion and Tiffany manages to let her emotion actually push her motivations for her, that's when a real connection can be made. Lawrence's work here is so intense and entertaining that you find yourself forgiving her very weird transgressions and manipulations. She's not a train wreck, but that doesn't stop you from staring.

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What sets Silver Linings Playbook apart is the amalgam of past David O. Russell and mainstream David O. Russell. There are bits and pieces of Russell's other protagonists - i.e. Ben Stiller in Flirting with Disaster and Jason Schwartzman in I Heart Huckabees - that show their faces in Pat. Somehow, instead of turning this into an exceedingly dark comedy, he plays it light enough to design a crowdpleaser that doesn't pander too much. There are sure moments of audience manipulation and some strange decisions in places (I HATE camerawork that spins around people too quickly), but it otherwise serves as a great success and one of the best of 2012.

Like I said before, Russell isn't arguing that, if you take your meds, exercise, and join a dance competition, you can land a disorganized smoking hottie (if only). It's not about that. It's about taking control of your life and taking responsibility for yourself. It's about forgiving yourself, forgiving the people around you, and accepting forgiveness from others. It's about seeing the world as a full, three dimensional place where every person deserves the benefit of the doubt, but must be prepared for judgment at the eyes of others. Love isn't about dedicating your life to the happiness of one person; it's about being the best person you can be when you're on this planet. The love you can give to and earn from others is just collateral damage. That's the silver lining.


SHOULD YOU SEE IT: Encouraged