★★★☆☆
Director: David O. Russell
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Chris Tucker
❝ THE ONLY WAY TO BEAT MY CRAZY WAS BY DOING SOMETHING EVEN CRAZIER. ❞
Synopsis: When Patrizio Solitano Jr. (Bradley Cooper) is released from a mental institution he begins the task of adjusting to normal life once again. Whilst trying to find ways of communicating with his estranged wife (who has a restraining order on him), he meets a woman called Tiffany Maxwell (Jennifer Lawrence) who has problems of her own. A deal they both make takes them on a journey into understanding and controlling their chaotic behaviour and their problematic lives.
I have got to start this off by saying, the film had a solid first half and I did enjoy it. The potential for a great film was there. Bradley conveyed the true turmoil and seriousness of Pat's illness, whilst Jennifer really excelled in understanding Tiffany's motivations behind her behaviour. Somewhere along the way, however, the film broke down and became a dry, dull cliché. Normally, I don't mind romantic clichés as long as it doesn't damage the experience of the film as a whole. But this one did. For some reason, the film suddenly became safe and began to walk on eggshells. This didn't feel like an honest experience. The resolution felt forced for the sake of wrapping everything up in a nice little bow and I felt like it had completely disregarded how much work it takes to deal with someone who has bipolar disorder. I understand the film is called Silver Linings Playbook for a reason, but there are other ways to demonstrate how Pat could have gotten over or at least found his disorder easier to deal with. However, despite these negativities, the film isn't terrible. Oscar worthy? No. Not for me at least. That's what the letdown here is. It's not brutally honest with itself enough about the core of each of these character's problems, but it's a nice story of two people who fall in love.
Maz,
ReplyDeleteI totally see what you're saying about the film changing after the first half. I think O'Russell wanted to dictate Pat's disorder with his editing and that's why the film seems almost bipolar--it's sad and depressing one moment and happy and cliche the next. I just find his films so entertaining, I didn't mind this at all.
CL
That's a great way to look at it. It's a smart move for him to do that, to completely 360 and turn the film into something positive and I really don't mind that. I totally get that.
DeleteI think my problem with the film is that it is what it is - a romantic comedy, and I really wanted this one to just *be different* in a way that made people think more about each character's connection to themselves as people and their disorders. I don't know if it did for anyone else, but for me, I just didn't feel the connection in the second half and I felt a little cheated out of a realistic ending for some pretty realistic characters.
That being said, I did enjoy it.
I was just disappointed because of the rave reviews it got about bringing these mental health issues to light. It did so, but I just didn't feel like it was handled realistically and was more for show here. For the sake of a good film that fit neatly into it's genre with no complaints or controversy. I kept thinking back to The Master and how much I enjoyed and connected with Freddie Quell and his handling of his illness in opposition to Pat's.
This film definitely has an edge to it, I will give it that a lot of other romcoms don't, that I can safely say. It's just not enough for it to stand out in it's category for me. It's just missing something special to push it over the edge and that's what's always going to bother me about this film. I'm really glad so many people found it entertaining though, and even if I disagree with it's nomination, it IS still nice to see such variety this year! Good luck to it :)
*This film definitely has an edge to it, that a lot of other romcoms don't.
DeleteI think a lot of people's problem with the film is that it is a romantic comedy. And more so - why would O'Russell want to tackle on this genre after a power - house of a film like The Fighter? I could see elements of The Fighter here, but I always wondered.
ReplyDeleteI think if any other filmmaker would have tackled this film, it just wouldn't have been as engaging and he or she wouldn't have gotten the same performances out of these actors (although I don't think all of them warranted an Oscar nod - that's just me though).
The way I think of it, so I don't go crazy, is that for a genre that's been beaten dead already, O'Russell did a pretty good job at keeping me entertained. And for a romantic - comedy that's saying a lot.
I would have loved for the film to further analyze Pat's disorder and even Tiffany's, but alas it's not Ordinary People or Adam (both of which I LOVE).
It is what it is and that's what I have to judge it on.
Btw, nice to see you're doing more reviews. I think you tend to scratch beyond the surface of film's subject matter and talk about their underlying ideologies, which I love to read about. :)
CL
Yeah, I completely understand where you're coming from. I am glad a film like this has been made, and I'm glad it's getting a lot of attention - I just wished he'd done *more* with it. (I know that it's hard when you're basing a film off a book and trying to keep the narrative more or less the same) I imagine a lot of typical romcom lovers would find this hard to watch because it doesn't follow the same path as what they're probably used to seeing, but as long as it helps them to think differently about characters, I think David did his job.
DeleteAlso, thank you very much! I've kind of left it late, hence why I've been spamming all the Best Picture nominated films this week, but it's great to know people enjoy reading and even better when you input and discuss with me :) I'd love to read more of yours too!
Good Movie, Bradley Cooper is very good actor, nice to see anupam in this movie.
ReplyDeleteThere are few movies in which all the actors have done an outstanding job. This movie is one of them. Amazing acting, great storyline and great direction makes this movie a must watch. Don't miss it!
ReplyDelete