Movie Review: Silver Linings Playbook

Two misfits comes together to find peace and happiness. This forms the basis of the movie directed by David O Russell. David O Russell adapts a novel by Matthew Quick to tell the story on screen. Patrizio Jr(Bradley Cooper) is taken to his parent's house from a psychiatric care, by his mother(Jacki Weaver). Patrizio Jr shares a lot of characteristics with dad Patrizio Sr(Robert de Niro) especially the bad temper. Once Pat Jr is back at his home, he plans to getting back with his former wife Nikki. But there is a slight problem. Nikki already has a restraining order on Pat. When Pat meets Tiffany(Jennifer Lawrence) a young widow, both their worlds collide for better. But they do not realize it at first.

Like in his previous movie Fighter, David O Russell focuses on relationships. The situation of Pat and Tiffany is funny. Pat has bipolar disorder while Tiffany is a sex addict. Is there anything common between them except the neuroses? How do they come to tolerate each other despite the wrong things they say to each other? All these are comedic scenes. Yet David O Russell films it in such a way that we sympathize with the characters even when we are laughing at the dialogues and their reactions. Thanks to the director at the helm, the movie doesn't end up being one-dimensional.

The performances by Bradley Cooper as Pat Jr and Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany contributes significantly towards the movie. Bradley Cooper has a different role. He is known for his appearances in comedy movies. He has to shake all the preconceived notions about him and deliver a convincing performance. In short, he has a thin line to walk and he does the balancing act very well. Jennifer Lawrence has an interesting role but not a difficult one. It is her interaction with Pat Jr and the way she convinces Pat Sr which makes us notice her. Robert de Niro as Pat Sr has a role which he has played many times. Yet, he makes a difference towards the climax. At this point, we know why he was chosen for playing the role. Chris Tucker in a very short role invokes a laughter without boring us.

It is an emotional movie, recommended for a quiet evening.

Language: English 

Genre: Drama 

Rating: ****

For trailer, click here.

-->