Finding The Silver Lining

There are many films in the history of cinema that have attempted to slap viewers hard round the face with their message, with movies that scream 'we hate slavery!' and 'torture is bad!', so it was finally refreshing to see a film where the issues are below the surface, and where the film plays on two levels, as an entertaining romp and as a film with a deeper meaning. Silver Linings Playbook is an adaptation of Matthew Quick's novel of the same name, and tells the story of Pat, a man who has spent some time in a mental institution, and goes on an emotional quest, to find 'a silver lining'.

The film, directed by 'The Fighter' auteur David O Russel, who brings the film to the screen with a deft hand, jettisoning the parts of the story, which would adapt poorly to the screen, and grafting onto the bones of the story, a script which is delightful and fun, yet retains some of the more serious aspects and some of the gravitous subject matter of the novel. The casting of the film is inspired with the film becoming the first since Reds, to garner academy award nominations in all four acting categories, and the first since Million Dollar Baby, to be nominated for the top five.

The film stars Bradley Cooper as Pat Solatano, a man who has just been released from an institution, and Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany Maxwell, a recovering sex addict and aspiring dancer. The pairing of these two is great, and they are a couple which the audience really wants to work out, and the audience really wants them to be together. This is surprising in a sense, given the age difference between the two actors, (Lawrence was 21 and Cooper 38 at the time of filming). The film shows us great performances from these leads as individuals, as they manage to represent characters with a lot of issues, and problems, yet they never let these characters get to the point when they start to irritate the audience, and we continue to love and care for these characters because of, not in spite of their flaws.

Overall this film is entertaining, yet has heart. It is fun yet it has a deeper meaning, and it doesn't go down the age old path of trying to slap you with its message, yet the message is still there, and it is still a film that has a clear direction and a subtle message. The performances of the leads and the development of the characters makes this an entertaining film, and an enjoyable watch. Rating: A

Tiffany: I'm just the crazy slut, with a dead husband, Hahahaha! Fuck you!