First let me say that I really liked this movie.
David O. Russell, the remarkably successful writer/director
of Flirting With Disaster (1996), Three Kings (1999) and I Heart Huckabees
(2004) may have finally found his true métier in the
dysfunctional-family-dramatic-romantic-screwball-drama-comedy genre, which, at
least in its modern incarnation, he has sort-of invented with The Fighter
(2010) and now Silver Linings Playbook.
Both of these movies take place in lower middle/middle class
environments, The Fighter in Lowell Massachusetts , and Silver Linings
Playbook in Philadelphia. The former concerned itself with the trials and
travails of a determined and remarkably sane young prizefighter struggling to
break free from a remarkably dysfunctional family (most particularly a
dominating mother and a manic/self-destructive brother) with help from the tough (and sane) young barmaid with whom he
falls in love. Silver Linings Playbook is about the trials and travails
of a former schoolteacher with bipolar disorder, just released from a mental
institution, trying to overcome his dysfunctional family situation (most
particularly his OCD, football obsessed father) and his as-yet uncontrolled
manic thought disorder, who hopes to find happiness and sanity through reconciliation with his wife,
with the help of an impulsive, young widow. The Fighter is a funny drama, while
the current film is more of a dramatic comedy.
Both efforts show off Russell’s brilliance as a writer and
director of dialogue-driven scenes, which reveal the characters’ flaws and
yearnings, set up the action, and drive the stories forward. In these families,
passions are quickly triggered, people argue and talk over each other, and,
despite or perhaps through such verbal conflict, inspiration and understanding
eventually flows. Underlying the dysfunctionality, there is deep familial love; and this love eventually leads to redemption.
Russell also has a way with actors. For The Fighter,
Melissa Leo and Christian Bale won Oscars and Amy Adams was nominated. Mark
Wahlberg and the rest of the cast were pretty awesome, as well. I wouldn’t be
surprised if Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence as the leads and/or Robert de
Niro or Chris Tucker, in supporting roles, receive Oscar nominations this year
for SLP.
Cooper is totally believable as Pat Solitano, a
thirty-something guy who lost everything - marriage, job, reputation - in a
violent psychotic break last year, induced, in part, by the discovery of his
wife’s infidelity; and who now must live with his parents. Pat is trying to
rebuild his life on a platform of positive thinking. This would be difficult enough, but making
matters worse, Pat is still thought-disordered, refusing to take his meds, and
manically obsessed with the idea that he can win back his bride. Cooper somehow
captures this guy’s madness with subtle facial gestures, body language and
rapid fire speeches. At the same time, his Pat is a protagonist we want to root
for, a decent guy trying to free himself from the tangled net of his disease
and circumstance.
Jennifer Lawrence follows her incredible performance as Ree
in Winter’s Bone (2010) and her convincing gig as teen heroine Katniss
Everdeen in The Hunger Games (2012), with a comedic-romantic turn here,
as the brazen Tiffany – who is thrown together with Pat, and doesn’t
want to let go. She’s got her own issues, but she sees something in Pat and
she’s willing to overlook his ‘quirks’ to help him find it. Maybe he’ll find
her, too. Tiffany is hurting, she’s vulnerable, but like Amy Adams in The
Fighter, she’s tough, not passive, and will fight for her own dreams,
too. This is a side of Lawrence we
haven’t seen before – kind of a Carole Lombard/Meg Ryan side - that she handles
with aplomb. This 22 year old has a bright future ahead of her.
Its no surprise that De Niro can act, but his performance as
Pat, Sr. – Pat’s Eagles football obsessed dad, is one of his best in some time.
He’s thick-skulled and obsessive, loud and argumentative, but like Melissa
Leo’s Alice Ward in The Fighter, he’s loving and compassionate underneath it
all. De Niro makes us believe in this somewhat cartoonish man. Welcome back Bobby! Chris Tucker has a small but funny and
touching role as Danny, a charming and garrulous friend that Pat acquired in
the loony bin.
SLP is more intentionally comedic than The Fighter.
It’s not slapstick, by any means, but there’s a touch of the old screwball
comedies in the rapid-fire, confrontational conversations between Pat and his
father, and especially between Pat and Tiffany, that’s reminiscent of Rosalind
Russell and Cary Grant in His Girl Friday (1940) and similar pictures of
that era.
Silver Linings Playbook is funny, and it’s touching.
Characters actually develop. There’s a learning curve. The denouement is not
exactly a surprise, but what’s a
dysfunctional-family-dramatic-romantic-screwball-drama-comedy without a happy
ending? It’s nice to walk out of the theater with a smile on your face, innit?
In wide release.
(Go see it).
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