Weekend Watch: Silver Linings Playbook

After reviewing "Les Miserables" and "Django Unchained" over the last few weeks I decided to set a goal for myself. I was going to watch and review all of the nominated films before the Oscars take place. It's obviously the right choice considering one day I aspire to be a professional screenwriter, and these are some of the writers I look up to, but I was already off to a bad start. Several of the nominated films had already left theaters.

I may have started behind the pack, but I'm going to try my best and catch up. So this week I chose to review "Silver Linings Playbook" even though I wasn’t originally interested in it.

Pat (Bradley Cooper) is trying his best to rebuild his wreck of a life, and reconcile with his wife after a stint in a mental hospital. It isn't easy, especially with the pressure that his father (Robert De Niro) puts on him, but he is on his way back to normalcy. However, when a whirlwind named Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) enters his life he is forced to face some potentially harsh realities.

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

One of the reason’s I wasn’t originally interested in “Silver Linings Playbook” was Bradley Cooper. I don’t like him, mainly because I feel he usually plays small variations of the same character in all his films, but he won me over with his portrayal of Pat. Pat has issues. Issues that were brought to the surface by his wife's infidelity. It isn't his character's issues that interested me however. It is way in which he struggles with a positive attitude in the face of the harsh reality, and ultimately retains said attitude even when it costs him. It was a struggle that is common to a lot of people, including myself, and you cannot help but feel invested in his journey.

When I first saw Jennifer Lawrence in "Winters Bone" I thought she had the potential to be a great actress. That was until she was cast as Katniss in the “The Hunger Games”, and I thought that she would be swallowed up by the black hole that surrounds films of that nature (*Cough* Kristin Stewart *Cough*). But after you watch "Silver Linings Playbook" you'll see that she obviously still has star quality. She plays Tiffany, a woman who has been transformed negatively by personal tragedy. What makes her interesting is the way in which she is blatantly honest about what she has become, and urges Pat to move on, yet still chooses to manipulate him when it best serves her agenda.

It was not only their chemistry, but also the way their lives weaved together that kept me intrigued. I desperately wanted both Pat and Tiffany to overcome their problems, and live happy lives.  

If you’re in the mood to watch an entertaining film then head out to your local theater and catch the next showing of “Silver Linings Playbook.”