December 29th, 2012
MEOW!
I've had my fair share of complaints about the Weinstein Company, and how I tend to believe that it likes to slap its distribution name on any film just to score some golden statues. Just because they can tell people that it's "the best film you will see all year" doesn't make it true to other people who may see it and disagree. And anybody who disagrees with that quote is more than likely to get looked down by the majority of people who claim it to be a work of art. You can't force opinions on people; the best thing to do is to help and encourage those attempting to find something good, or great even.
And Silver Linings Playbook is one great film.
Mix Dirty Dancing with two of the craziest people you could ever meet, and you have Silver Linings Playbook--a terrific winner written and directed by David O. Russell. Leaving aside the brilliant performances of Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence for a moment, this film has an involving (albeit predictable) story with quirky humor and mature topics that are rarely covered in today's films, such as mental disabilites and the belief of, you guessed it, a silver lining! It's one of the easiest films to appreciate in a rather dreary and political awards season, so far.
When he is released from the Baltimore psychiatric ward eight months later, Pat (Bradley Cooper), a man with bipolar disorder, attempts to start his life anew by finding a positive outlook on life. He starts by trying to get back with his wife Nikki (Brea Bee) after an unfortunate incident that led him to being sent away from everyone that he knows. He finds out the only way to connect with her is through her friend Tiffany (Katniss Everdeen: THE GIRL ON FIRE!), a recent widow who not only lost her husband Tommy in a bizarre car accident; she also lost her job by having sex with most of the co-workers at her job (how many, I'll leave for you to discover.). She agrees to send a letter to Nikki if he is willing to perform in a dance competition with her, and so, the two form an oddball friendship that leads to something there that wasn't there before...OK, it's not Beauty and the Beast, but ya get the jist. There's also an interesting sub-plot that intertwines with Pat's story involving his father (Robert De Niro); he has an *O.C.D* with the Philadelphia Eagles, and believes that Pat would be a 'good luck charm' if he were able to watch the games with him.
Without question, every performance in the ensemble is a a sight to behold. Right off the bat, Bradley Cooper is brilliant as Pat (the rhymes--they chime like limes). Deviating away from his character from The Hangover, Cooper presents Pat as a troubled human being who is only looking for a silver lining, especially after reading a rather upsetting copy of Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms." Robert De Niro has a great turn as a father who, despite his obsession with his favorite football team, only wants to have a few moments with his son. Any father and son who watches this film can definitely relate to that. A really nice surprise comes from Chris Tucker, playing the role of Pat's friend Danny. Normally known for his karate-chop action in the Rush Hour films, it's nice to see him in a role that allows him to be comedic while also grounded in reality; it shows how versatile any actor can be, really.
And now we have Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany. It's kind of hard to describe her character, honestly. She's just...real. She's an absolutely goregous person, inside and out; she's the type of woman that us guys would fall head over heels for. And then we go back to the eyes. In her eyes, we see how much of a crazy life that she must've made for herself, and how personal that life must've been. How personal, we're not so sure. Because of that, we wonder if it was right to take the risk. We take it anyways, however. Because we're curious. We're fascinated. She's an enigma that deserves to open up her feelings to all of us, and no matter how crazy she gets with them, it's the passion that matters the most of all. An Oscar nomination is in her future, and if there isn't anybody else as good as her, she could possibly take home her first golden statue. It's so well-deserved, you have no idea.
Two people falling in love with each other is an easy sell to a mass audience. Add the words 'with mental illnesses' between 'people' and 'falling in love,' and you would have a difficult task that is just around the riverbend. Writer-Director David O. Russell does something incredible with the characters, something that I would never expect to be accomplished so well here: he makes both Pat and Tiffany absolutely likeable and relatable. I've seen a lot of films that focus on characters that had mental illnesses, and they've either ranged from bland to the purest definition of unlikeable (Mark Zuckerberg from The Social Network comes to mind. Realistic or not, I couldn't stand him at all.). To FINALLY see a film, let alone a romantic comedy, that dives deep into both of the characters' psychological problems with a touch of humanity makes me extremely happy. There is good in this world; you just have to be crazy enough to find it.
David O. Russell's direction with the camerawork isn't as crazy as the concept of its story. Unlike Les Miserables, however, where most of the intimacy is inappropriate for the subject matter, here it's appropriate, and allows you to invest in the characters' dilemmas. It especially works whenever scenes take place in Pat's household with his family, where the overlapping dialogue overwhelms both the characters and the audience observing the action. Speaking of dialogue, the film's script is swimming in it, and brilliantly so. Every bit of dialogue between two or three characters, which mostly runs about five to ten minutes, just keep the eyes glued to the screen There's an interesting moment when Pat explains the origin of the word 'OK' at the dinner table, which provides a few laughs and a bit of history in the process. It's also a stroke of genius of having Pat and Tiffany go as 'themselves' while everyone at the diner is all dressed up in costume. Irony still has a few tricks up its sleeve, I see.
If I had to nipick one aspect of this otherwise wonderful film, it's that, no matter how much it seems to be unique and different from the genre, it's still a traditional romantic comedy at the end of the day. That's not a bad thing, FAR from it, but if you read the plot synopsis that was in the second paragraph, you pretty much know what you're going to expect within the first five minutes. Heck, just reading the title can give away everything without even seeing it. So, why still see this film? Because as much as the conventions still shine like the top of the chrysler building, there are still plenty of genuine surprises to be had. There's one scene where I thought it was going in the oh-so-predictable direction that plenty of romantic comedies do nowadays (Ya know, the traditional "You-did-this-to-me-so-I'm-going-to-leave-you-for-now-and-we-can-both-mope-in-our-separate-ways-until-we-conventionally-apologize-so-we-can-please-the-masses" formula? I guess not.), until Tiffany enters Pat's house for the very first time. I won't spoil it for you all, except that it put the goofiest grin on my face when I first saw it.
Well, all I can say is this: Weinsteins, you definitely win this round. Silver Linings Playbook is a film I look forward to hearing about more when Oscar season arrives; with outstanding performances from the ensemble, particularly Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, and a wonderful direction and script by David O. Russell, it is one of the easiest films I can reccomend to you right now. It's crazy to think that I'm reccomending something like this--a romantic comedy where two people with mental illnesses fall in love. Yet, here I am. This is one of the year's best films.
SIDE-NOTE: I would also reccomend this film to any mature 13 or 14-year-olds. They've seen worse imagery in PG-13 films. I mean, have you NOT seen what has been going on around the Capitol?
Until next time,
MEOW!
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