Silver Lining Playbook--A Special Kind of Crazy

“One incident can change a lifetime.”
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 Silver Lining Playbook is a masterpiece. For anyone who ever doubted anything in their life, had mistakes or regrets, this movie makes you look at everything in perspective, it did for me. This was a smart, captivating, funny and sarcastically upbeat movie. David O. Russell, the director AND screenwriter had a vision and it never faltered for a second, he executed it perfectly. The pacing, editing, scene set up, characters and dialogue was flawless, truly an amazing film and will be one of my favorites for a long time.

The movie starts in a psych ward the first image we see of Bradley Cooper (Patrick) is of his back as he talks to no one, yet he is starting to unravel his inner thoughts on life, and ‘excelsior’ and his quest to get in shape, and do whatever it takes to make his wife Nikki fall back in love with him. Since it was the ‘incident’ with the history teacher that drove him to spend eight months in the psych ward. I automatically fall in love with Bradley’s character because of his fast pace ramblings about changing his life for the better is good and sincere.

Coming home to his father Patrick Senior (Robert De Niro) was a surprise since the mother Dolores (Jacki Weaver) picked him up in secret. At first it has the typical family awkwardness, the set up of the scene is Bradley in the doorframe while his family is framed on the other side of the family room. This isn’t your typical ‘crazy people’ kind of movie where everyone makes a big deal about that person being crazy; it’s about acceptance and adapting again to life. We also see it’s not only Patrick that has his own demons to fight. We see the quirks of Patrick Senior with his OCD compulsions and anger management problems, his friend Danny (Chris Tucker) giving his life a second chance after his hospital stay and Ronnie; (John Ortiz) Patrick’s only friend in the neighborhood is struggling with his marriage to Veronica (Julia Stiles) and their new baby.  Patrick is only put to the test when Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), Veronica’s sister comes into the picture.

Tiffany (played by Jennifer Lawrence who deserves to win Best Actress for this performance) is just as quirky, sarcastic and loveable with her inappropriate behaviors and ‘no-filter’ way about how she talks to people. At first she comes off to Patrick as an annoying girl but has great sex appeal. As much as they bicker and banter to start with the connection grows with each scene and it makes you hungry for the next time the pair are on the screen together. The characters challenged each other on screen and they were the most vibrant and expressive performers. The way they not only interacted physically with one another, but their dialogue was impeccable, sarcastic and quick, yet clear and entertaining. Automatically, the audience is okay with their inappropriate behaviors because they are a little ‘messed up’ in the head. Patrick and bi-polar dysfunctional man whom works out in trash bags and Tiffany, a young, depressed, reformed-slut widow are just sane enough for us to root for them to find solace and hope in each other.

My favorite moment with the two was the techniques they used to show Patrick having a break down. We see it first in the psychiatrist office when his trigger song, My Cheri Amor comes on. There are flashbacks and spinning camera angles that get you inside Patrick’s head and you see his ‘illness’ in a whole new light. So when his break down comes on outside a movie theatre with Tiffany and a group of kids we see again the camera angles swirling, showing distortion and madness. The music and sounds around him are fading and echoing, but a face sticks out and is calm and steady like the camera frame that holds her face, Tiffany. She breaks through the chaos of his mind and calms him down. It is right then and there you know she is his saving grace for normalcy and sanity.  And of course while you watch the movie, you see he is her medicated saving grace as well.

There are more beautiful and pure moments throughout the movie, especially when giant revelations happen that move the plot that make you sometimes want to gasp out loud, (which, not going to lie I did a few times.) From the entertaining and funny jogs Tiffany and Patrick do together, the dance scenes/montages, Tiffany’s big monologue after the Eagles game and the psychologist visits, these scenes leave you with information to reveal more about the characters and who they are as the story progresses. If you feel you learned something from a character or was moved by a certain character’s action or scene, then David O. Russell has done his job. I believe you can still be able to love the book and love the movie adaptation as a separate piece of art.