Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Review of Silver Linings Playbook (2012), directed by David O. Russell
I distinctly remember 2012 as the year The Hunger Games craze began, leading into the craze for The Maze Runner and Divergent. I was in middle school back then, so all the impressionable preteens and teens were going nuts for these kinds of movies. But before Jennifer Lawrence became known to us in The Hunger Games, she was in this 2012 movie Silver Linings Playbook. And that’s what I knew it as: the movie that had Jennifer Lawrence. I didn’t know anyone else in it, just that it was critically acclaimed. Nine years later, I’ve now sat down to watch it and what a ride that was. There’s so many themes in this movie that are applicable to our lives, whether we have a mental illness or not. Let’s dive into this review.
Content
Pat has just been released from the mental hospital in Baltimore at the start of this film, which judging from the implications is referring to Shepherd Pratt. He has bipolar disorder. He still believes he is married to his ex-wife, Nikki, who cheated on him. Pat had caught her in the shower with another man and then promptly began to beat the shit out of the guy.
Pat is still exuding similar behaviors at home, violently reacting to a Hemingway book and getting into fights with his parents because they won’t let him contact Nikki, who has a restraining order against him. Cue: Tiffany. She’s his friend’s wife’s sister and a widow. She also has mental health problems and wants to befriend Pat, although he resists this, citing he is still married (he is not).
Bradley Cooper doesn’t have bipolar disorder, but he did a hell of a job portraying it. This movie was so realistic to what people with bipolar disorder have to go through, but it also shows that we’re all a little messed up at the end of the day. We often look down with people that have mental illnesses, dub them crazy, but we all have issues. There is a romantic relationship aspect to this film, as Tiffany and Pat seem to be gravitating that orbit the entirety of the film before reaching it, and there’s some classic dysfunctional family relationships going on in the background.
I can personally really relate to Pat as he manages to try and find the silver linings in everything in life, how he wants to change, but he just can’t. Mental illness and life just tends to do that to you sometimes, which is the sucky part, but we need to move on and learn how to live with it. And eventually he does, and so does Tiffany. They find solace in each other at the end of the day.
We also get these really domestic, life-like scenes which makes it so much real to the casual viewer. Squabbling over football, learning how to dance for a competition, and there’s humor in it. It’s bizarre at times, but it’s humorous and the way I imagine life to actually be like.
Overall Thoughts
I think that this is a must-watch film, whether you have a mental illness or not. There’s themes and moments we all can take from the movie, whether it’s one of the characters or all of them. The actors really brought them all to life and took the house down with this performance, which is a standout from the year 2012. It does get a little lost towards the end script-wise, but I’m willing to overlook it due to the brilliant performances and storyline that came before it.
