The moment I thought was going to happen took place after I finished watching Silver Linings Playbook. It was almost as if planned, it happened and I was most certain that it would because I had seen The Words just little while back. It had little to do with the award feedback but it could have slightly been influenced by it but I don’t actually care. The moment when I suddenly started to like an actor that I didn’t tolerate before surfaced as if it was the natural course of action, the moment of me liking Bradley Cooper has taken place and I couldn’t be happier about it. Because there’s no shame in liking a man who I thought to be an one trick pony bring to the screen a complicated character with all his subtle nuances and dynamic emotions.
With the Oscar nominations right behind us, there was an itch I needed to scratch as soon as possible and as you might have guessed it, it was to see Silver Linings Playbook. I’m gonna say it right away, I love Jennifer Lawrence and I don’t mind her unfiltered interviews because I think many Hollywood people think too much about the things they say. Of course it influences their future career but too many walk on glass when it comes to being candid and themselves. But Lawrence reminds me a little bit of me if I’d be famous and gorgeous, I sometimes lack the social filter and I tend to answer with sarcasm all too often – still, the biggest difference between us is that she has immense talent in bringing onto screen characters that are interesting from all angles, as she did with Tiffany.
Silver Linings Playbook revolves around two people, Pat (Bradley Cooper) and Tiffany (Lawrence) who are brought together through an unusual situation. What makes it unusual is the fact that Pat has just gotten out of a mental institution after a late diagnosis of his bipolar disorder and Tiffany is a young widow with few personality traits that could be best described as uncanny. It is clear from the beginning that the two have a sort of a connection of minds though Pat tries his best to not follow up on that connection with him being still married to Nikki. A marriage that he desperately tries to save by loosing weight, reading books and trying to be a better, healthier man. When Tiffany promises him to deliver a letter to Nikki, who has a restraining order against Pat, he has to promise her to rehearse for a dance contest where she wants them to participate in.
What makes the movie great is the chemistry between Pat and Tiffany, not just because Cooper and Lawrence look visually great together (a lot better than Cooper with Saldana) but because their dialog was written in a manner of being built upon hate that had such passion in between the lines! I don’t have any idea how this came across in the book, a lack of knowledge I plan to discard soon, but I can’t help to wonder if this hate/love type of relationship was elevated by the movie. Either way, I love how their romance was built upon a complication after complication, it gave an impression that no matter what, they can survive through everything together. In addition, both of them were a bit crazy in their own way, Pat with his disorder and Tiffany with her depression which made her unafraid to do and say things that came across rude and let’s be honest, crazy as hell. Therefore, both were unhinged as people, yet, together they seemed to find the perfect balance.
Silver Linings Playbook is made better by two supporting characters, Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro) and Dolores (Jacki Weaver) who are there to fill in the blanks. Pat Sr. himself has problems with an O.C.D look alike superstition which is reflected by having the same routine during every single game day – a routine that is strongly related to Pat as well. Dolores is the calm of the house and despite having a husband who can’t stand to have his remotes in the wrong place and a son that has a bipolar disorder, she held her own and still made those crabby snacks she probably had been making every Sunday for god knows how long. Plus, I liked that Dolores was so sweet throughout the movie, she never had a fit about anything, she understood both of the men in her life and it made her a better person because of it.
In the end, I appreciated the irony of the dance, the funny moments in between all the characters – it was a serious movie and yet, it was light as a feather when it needed to be. David O. Russell directed it well, adding the dance sequences in between to lighten the mood, as well as using light color scheme in the flashback scenes in order not to make it too grim. Therefore Silver Linings Playbook was able to enjoy that silver lining in the end without the beginning being too rough and gloomy. Though for some, black humor might be too dark which is definitely not the case with me, Silver Linings Playbook had just the right amount of fun. And as I said before, I plan to read the book soon, because I have a feeling that if I had done it before, it could have been a Perks moment but now, it’s just another great movie moment for me.
METTEL RAY 
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