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If you\u2019ve been disappointed with cinema\u2019s latest offerings in the rom-com department, prepare to be impressed. David O\u2019 Russell\u2019s nervy adaptation of Matthew Quick\u2019s novel draws you in right from the smart, punchy start, and is spiked with genuine laugh-out-loud moments.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t let the fact that you\u2019ve never heard of a playbook put you off. Or the fact that when you Googled it, it told you it had something to do with American Football. The sport element is limited to Pat\u2019s OCD-prone father\u2019s (Robert De Niro) obsession with The Philadelphia Eagles: and the scenes with Pat and the equally unstable Pat Sr. are a joy. Silver Linings Playbook presents us with a group of unstable and troubled individuals, all of whom you worry for and find yourself relating with, anchored by Pat\u2019s mother (Jacki Weaver).<\/p>\n
Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) has anger management issues: he\u2019s just been released from a Baltimore psych facility after assaulting his wife\u2019s lover, and is trying to overcome his demons and win her back, when he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), who is equally damaged and on self-destruct following the death of her husband. Jennifer\u2019s spell-bindingly good as the unpredictable and explosive young beauty: and Lawrence and Cooper\u2019s painfully honest exchanges (neither has a conversation \u2018filter\u2019) are brilliant: \u201cGood to meet you, you look nice, how did Tom die?\u201d (Pat) \u201cHow\u2019s your restraining order?\u201d (Tiffany). The pair strikes an uneasy alliance as Tiffany offers to help Pat out. You can probably see where this is going, but before you head out for more popcorn, prepare for a couple of brawls and a not-quite-Dirty-Dancing-worthy dance routine.<\/p>\n
Russell keeps the underlying theme of mental illness and its impact on society and relationships as a side-line (the book has our hero serving far longer than eight months in a psychiatric hospital) but Bradley\u2019s career-best performance as the troubled Pat is engaging and touching as well as funny. The film scooped the coveted People\u2019s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival and there\u2019s already an Oscar buzz surrounding the its release. But hype aside, the thing that makes this film really special is the main characters\u2019 imperfections. Every one of them is flawed, slightly neurotic, completely volatile and, most importantly, real.<\/p>\n
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