Silver Linings Playbook ☆☆☆☆☆

This is a film that lives up to my rating - right after watching it I asked my friend "can we go see it again?!"

The film follows Pat (Bradley Cooper), a former substitute teacher who has recently been in a mental institution for eight months following a violent attack upon his wife's lover when he catches them in the shower. Upon release Pat is determined to stay in shape, not take drugs to help him through his instability, and read his wife's entire syllabus (she is an English teacher) to get her back.

Pat lives with his parents who are responsible for him, played by Robert De Niro and Jackie Weaver, reconnects with best friend Ronnie and his wife Veronica (Julia Stiles) who introduce him to her slightly unbalanced younger sister Tiffany, played by the incomparable Jennifer Lawrence.
In order to get beyond the restraining order placed upon him, Pat agrees to help Tiffany with a dance competition in exchange for her assistance in getting a letter to his wife.

Then followed poignant drama, utter hilarity, thought provoking scenes, and some dodgy gambling to create one of the best films of this year. In my humble opinion. Also some dancing to put Strictly Come Dancing to shame.

Bradley Cooper said in a recent interview how proud he was of this film, because it was filmed in his home city of Philadelphia, had all around fantastic performances, and was a story that had real depth and heart to it. I could not agree with him more.
The story was unexpectedly hard hitting, yes I knew it was about mental illness but the violence and confusion that is portrayed on screen was entirely believable and quite scary. The levels of mental illness too are explored as we have Pat, his friend Danny (Chris Tucker, most famous for Fifth Element and Rush Hour) from the hospital, and Tiffany who has been acting out of character since she became a widow after a brief marriage.

Now at this point, if you know who Jennifer Lawrence is, you might be surprised at her playing a widow. Her most famous incarnation is probably as Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games, a seventeen year old girl who has to fight other children to survive. She is also only 22 years old in real life, whereas Bradley Cooper is 37 (though he doesn't look it). I think what we are meant to think is that, yes there is an age gap, yes she is quite young for a widow, but that does not matter a jot when watching the two together on screen.

Oh my god was Lawrence's performance amazing. It was funny, and scary, and heartbreaking. There is a moment where I just welled up from the emotion that was being emitted on screen just by her facial expression. So powerful. And she gets to be this cray outlandish character who can scream and shout, and she does it well. Again previous knowledge of her work shows she can do understated like someone with twenty years more acting experience, she was Oscar nominated for her performance in Winter's Bone when she was twenty, again playing a seventeen year old living an incredibly tough life. It was a revelation to see her be so outrageous.

Bradley Cooper too was extraordinary. I've mostly seen him in comedy or romantic roles so I know he can handle those easily, plus he is easy on the eye for those brainless action movies he may turn up in. I've not seen Limitless but have been recommended to watch it, and I will because Cooper has executive producer credit for only two films, Limitless and Silver Linings.
His performance in this film is definitely Oscar nomination worthy, not entirely sure its a winning role - depends who else he is up against, but every accolade should be put on him because its such an intense and believable portrayal of a man who has lost everything because of mental illness. There is a scene where he is on the verge of losing it entirely and its just extraordinary to watch, you feel like he might just explode there and then.

The chemistry between Lawrence and Cooper has no rival from this years drama releases, they talk, dance, yell and smile with so much ease that nothing feels forced. I was incredibly impressed.
In fact the whole cast had amazing chemistry. De Niro and Weaver were just fantastic as Pat's put upon parents, being woken in the middle of the night and having to deal with his outbursts. You learn so much about the family dynamic.

The writer/director David O. Russell is previously responsible for 2010's The Fighter, Three Kings and I Heart Huckabees. He provides tight direction to a story that could easily have run away with itself. The attention isn't entirely focused on how Pat and Tiffany feel, instead it spends time with how those around them are affected by their respective problems.

I loved this film, I wish I could afford to go see it again, alas will have to wait for the DVD.