Hello Everyone :-)
The Oscars are coming! Sunday 24th
February will see the red carpet rolled out for the good and great of the
western film world at the 85th Academy Awards. Last time we had a
look at ‘Argo’ the brilliant ‘Best Picture’ offering from Ben Affleck. Today
we’re going to cast an eye over ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ directed by David
O’Russell.
‘Silver Linings Playbook’ follows Pat (Bradley
Cooper) who suffers from bipolar
disorder. At the beginning of the film Pat is released from a mental health
facility into the care of his parents after eight months of treatment following
a violent incident brought on by Pat’s discovery of his wife’s affair. During
his first few weeks back in society Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) a
young widow also suffering from mental health problems and the two come to an
arrangement whereby Tiffany will pass letters from Pat to his estranged wife if
he agrees to partner Tiffany in an upcoming amateur dance competition. We watch
Pat as he tries to work out his commitment to his family, his relationship with
his ex-wife and his feelings for Tiffany.
If I was a cynic (which, it
will come as no surprise, I can be sometimes) I would say that this kind of
film is genetically modified to appeal to Academy voters. It features some big
name stars that have been uglied up (relatively speaking… I don’t think
Jennifer Lawrence could be ugly if she tried), it deals with big issues (in
this case mental health ones) and it ties everything up in a very life
affirming sort of way. So far so Academy friendly. What sets ‘Silver Linings
Playbook’ apart is its lack of pretension and how it embraces its spiky lead
characters.
The key to the film is its two
lead characters. Pat and Tiffany are a socially awkward match made in heaven
and this film works because you want them to get together.
Cooper gives his best
performance to date by some considerable margin. Pat isn’t exactly likeable but
he is a compelling character and Cooper gives him a brilliant, frenetic energy.
Cooper is nominated for Best Actor at this year’s Oscars and, although I don’t
think he’ll win (Daniel Day Lewis is a shoo-in), based on his efforts here
things are about to get very interesting for Bradley Cooper.
Jennifer Lawrence makes me
sick. The girl is stunningly beautiful, comes across like a really nice person
in interviews and is supremely talented. She has impressed me in every film
that in which I’ve seen her appear and ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ is no
exception. Tiffany is lots of things; awkward, fragile, angry, sweet; I really
liked her and that’s entirely down to Lawrence.
One criticism is that I think
this film has been mis-sold by the trailer and some of the reviews I’ve read.
It is awkwardly funny but not laugh-out-loud hilarious as the trailer suggests,
I don’t have a problem with this subtler humor but I thought it was worth
pointing out.
The look of the film is nice
and simple which is good. It’s quite a wordy film and Pat has a tendency to
talk quickly so the fact most scenes take place in the middle of a ridiculously
quiet road is pretty helpful.
Some detractors have said that
the film writes off various characters’ mental illnesses as simple personality
quirks but I don’t think that’s the case. Yes, some of the sufferers have less
difficultly with their disorders than others and yes, the characters seem to
cope better in the latter stages of the film than in the first, but isn’t that
called resolving (or at least partially resolving) the story? At the beginning
of ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ Pat’s affliction is seen to be destructive and
something from which he wants to get better, definitely not just a little
foible of his. Speaking as someone who has known people with mental illnesses I
think this is a perfectly fair depiction, sometimes they have good days,
sometimes they have bad days, sometimes they get obsessive about things,
sometimes they say inappropriate things, sometimes you’re allowed to laugh and
other times you’re not; it all chimed with my experiences.
‘Silver Linings Playbook’ is
marred slightly in its third act. There is a downright daft plot contrivance
which means that all of the characters end up in the same place at the same time
and all have reasons to care about the outcome of Pat and Tiffany’s dance
competition. It’s also in these scenes that the improvised dialogue becomes clunkier
which is a real pet peeve of mine. These, thankfully, are minor things and
don’t detract too much from the overarching loveliness of it all.
Maybe you could say that the
‘dance fixes everything’ message is a little bit ridiculous, especially when
you’re taking on an issue as complex as mental illness but for me ‘Silver
Linings Playbook’ is a sweet story about a family helping each other cope with
the hands they’ve been dealt. An uplifting story that’s enhanced by two
brilliant lead performances, ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ comes highly recommended.
‘Silver Linings Playbook’ is
out on Blu-Ray and DVD on 1st April.
Now lets have some…
Reasons to be Cheerful :-)
1. ‘Man of Steel’ trailer! I’ve been in two minds
about this because of the involvement of Zack Snyder of whom I’m not
particularly a fan but it doesn’t look too bad! It looks very visually stylish (which
is a given for Snyder) and Henry Cavill looks like a perfect physical fit for Superman.
What I’m most excited about is the always watchable Michael Shannon as General
Zod and my ultimate girl crush Amy Adams playing Lois Lane. While I still have
reservations, I’m looking forward to it.
2. Any of you that have been reading my inane
ramblings will know that I am a massive fan of the Hunger Games books and
really loved the first film. Now we have some set photos from the second film ‘TheHunger Games: Catching Fire’! The inclusion of Philip Seymour Hoffman in the
cast is enough to push me over the edge into full on fever pitch so seeing him
as Plutarch Heavensbee for the first time is crazy exciting :-)
That’s all I’ve got for you today!
Goodbye till next time :-)
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