Silver Linings Playbook

Much like the rest of David O Russell’s back catalogue, Silver Linings Playbook is a difficult film to nail down genre wise, mixing as it does elements of drama, comedy and romance. In fact, that’s pretty much the three factors that comprise the majority of Russell’s pictures and it’s always been an uneasy mix. This film continues in the same vain and is arguably the most unbalanced of all his pictures. Returning from a stint in a mental institution (following the beating of the man with which his wife was having an affair), Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) moves back in with his parents (Jacki Weaver and Robert De Niro) in order to get his life back in order. However, despite appearances, Solitano is still quite on the edge, not helped by his continued pursuit of his (now ex-) wife and a chance meeting with follow oddball and Bond girl sounding name Tiffany Maxwell (Jennifer Lawrence). My term of oddball might seem a little bizarre in a film concerning mental illness, but O Russell (adapting Matthew Quicks’ novel) seems unsure as to how to play it. It’s hardly a classic study of such afflictions and the script pretty much plays out with Solitano’s illness playing as a side story. Most of the jokes are based on Solitano and Maxwell’s neurosis’ and lack of social decorum. There are some great moments of dark comedy here though (an ex-teacher of Solitano tries to do a runner on seeing a happy grinning version of him approaching her) and it’s interesting to note that O Russell also shot a version of the film that was more extreme in terms of its comedy and content (though I guess that would have been given short shrift by the studio). Acting wise this is pretty good all round, and yes, that is Chris Tucker in a minor role. Of the leads Cooper is the best, but his performances continue to lack something that push him into classic leading man status. Lawrence fares less well, varying from quirky to laid back from scene to scene doesn’t help and she appears far too young to be playing the character (she’s 21, Cooper is a, somewhat hard to believe, 38). Julia Stiles gives a nice turn as Tiffany’s image obsessed sister, but best of all is old stager De Niro. He is excellent here, giving his best performance in a long time, easily stealing the film from under his younger leads noses as a bookmaker whose superstitions regarding the outcomes of his beloved American Football games will be warmly recognisable to all keen sports fans (though people with less than a passing knowledge of that game and betting lingo may get a bit confused). Overall this reminded me somewhat of an old style screwball comedy. Characters come and go, scenes are silly, the narrative goes off on tangents (a skit involving a young documentary filmmaker should have been left on the cutting room floor) and it all works out well in the end.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Not quite the sum of its parts, but when it works its great and De Niro is on fine fettle. Rating: 7/10.