Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence (winner-congratulations), Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver are all superb in this funny and confronting film about mental illness and what it takes to prevent life becoming chaos. As well as the superb cast, it is beautifully composed and directed. The setting is so natural we are unaware of the craft required to make it so real.
Despite the moments of shouting and exasperation, it is actually an understated film - which is unusual for an American feature film focussing on family. It is small and intimate, which allows us to quickly connect with this loving, but exhausted family. Jackie Weaver's performance as Patrick's mother Dolores struck a chord with me. The fragility in her eyes and mouth is balanced by her unflinching loyalty and steely determination to do the right thing for her challenging son; her strength is awe inspiring. DeNiro plays Pat's OCD father with passion but also humility and subtle humour as he tries earnestly to reconnect with his son. We warm to them both instantly and then feel their pain as their endless patience is tested by Pat's broken heart and fractured mind.
While the tone is kept light overall, we still get to see that loving and caring for a child with a mental illness, especially when that child is a tall and physically powerful man, is a heavy burden. The cost of which is written in lines on his exhausted mother's face.
Every character in this story is rich and plays an important part in both Pat's life. He is fortunate. However, this movie also demonstrates how medication and good therapy is critical to restoring balance and ensuring everyone's safety. Without showing us, we still understand why so many souls who suffer the ravages of their illness never recover and are left to the system to contain them and protect us from their madness. Those outside the system only have the streets…
The highlight for me was the snappy and raw dialogue, especially between Pat and Tiffany. They are both battling their own demons yet can see clearly the truth that lies beneath the surface in those around them. Their 'crazy' makes them unable or unprepared to do the carefully choreographed social dance of polite conversation, and thus they pull back the decorative curtain with which the rest of us hide the inadequacies of our own lives.
Their lack of filter is refreshing as well as amusing. Who wouldn't love to bypass smalltalk and cut straight to the chase?
The Silver Linings Playbook is a movie of love, connection, optimism and hope. The story itself is simple, sweet and rewarding. Yet its subject matter is anything but. For me, the theme is not of silver, but rather blurred lines. The line between doctor and patient, the line between love and obsession and that delicate line between sanity and madness.
4.5 stars - El
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