Silver Linings Playbook
Silver Linings Playbook paves a highly entertaining road to recovery for its characters, which you will be glad you helped sponsor.
WithThe Fighter , theatre director David O. Russell seemed to carve out a corner for off - beat dramedy centered around eccentric blue - neckband characters - and his new picture show , Silver Linings Playbookis exonerated grounds that he ’s getting more well-fixed in said niche . The story is localise in and around the area of Philadelphia , PA and postdate Pat Solitano ( Bradley Cooper ) an ex - teacher who is make out home from an establishment after suffering a nervous equipment failure . Pat is sprung ( untimely ) by his ever - patient mum ( Jacki Weaver ) but his dad , Pat Sr . ( Robert De Niro ) , is n’t so sure the return is justify - on account of Pat Jr. ’s constant petulance and the continued delusion that his estranged wife , Nikki ( Brea Bee ) , is still in love with him .
But when Pat meets Tiffany ( Jennifer Lawrence ) , a girl who has latterly bear a similar psychological break , it start up a most unusual courtship between two damage people - which might just be the flatware lining that each of them ( and their loved ones ) have been hope for .
[ DISCLAIMER : This review was write by a aboriginal Philadelphian and life - long Eagles fan . You ’ve been warned . ]
Silver Linings Playbookis another hitting for David O. Russell and further trial impression that he is settling into a stylus of filmmaking that serve him ( and his interview ) well . Rusell both directed and write the script ( adapted from the novel by Matthew Quick ) , and he manages to do for romanticistic comedy what he did for athletics play inThe Fighter- namely , by upend conventions via smart , well - executed , aspect that are heavy on keen talks , let out from the oral cavity of risible oddball characters . And , while the movie sometimes feel as lose as its two protagonists , the moment - to - moment pleasure of each setting never really subsides or droop , and the uncertainty of the goal just as often work as an reward , rather than a interference .
The film succeeds in large part because of its cast , who are all able to take Russell ’s unequalled tonal frequency and fetch it to life in a convincing and entertaining way . Bradley Cooper is all manic charm as Pat Jr. , and manages to scratch the difficult balance of a character who is delusional without being tragic or sad ; awkward and upstage without being too off - putting or annoying . What we get is a protagonist Charles Frederick Worth root for , despite his obvious shortcomings , and the role requires Cooper to ( gratefully ) shed a circumstances of his common smarmy foible - which he does effectively .
Cooper ’s performance might be noteworthy , but Jennifer Lawrence ’s is prominent . The young actress ( who already has an Oscar nominating speech under her belt forWinter’sBone , and breakout achiever thanks toThe Hunger Games ) proceed to prove she ’s one of the strongest actor of her generation . In Tiffany , she make a deeply - superimposed and interesting character that is attractive yet also sympathetically vulnerable and frighteningly fickle . After suffer a crack-up due to her cop married man ’s premature death , Tiffany ( like Pat ) is look for a route back to some colour of sanity - and , like Pat , has little idea how to actually go about it . Where Pat is a restate chord of ego - delusion , Tiffany oscillates between grade of sane and insane behavior rapidly and erratically ; Lawrence master these shifts with such skill and nuance that it ’s unnervingly convincing in the best possible manner .
Robert De Niro turns in what might be his best performance in years as Pat Sr . , a life story - long Philadelphia Eagles fan whose sports superstitions boarder on OCD - and whose " friendly wagers " with bookie friend Randy ( Paul Herman ) roomer on compulsive play . Like his co - stars , De Niro is able to walk a o.k. tightrope of characterization , so that Pat Sr . seems toughened while still loving , driven but not reckless , etc . It ’s a mix of De Niro ’s tough - hombre Italian image from his ring movie ( Casino ) coiffure to the comedic sensibilities of his family films ( Meet the Fockers ) and it all works toppingly . If ever there was a true portrayal of an old Eagles fan , this is it .
The ease of the cast is made up of talented actors toy type that outrank as slenderly less strange than Pat and/or Tiffany . Oscar - nominee Jacki Weaver ( Animal Kingdom ) is the calm nerve center of the Solitano kinsperson , but her acceptance ( enablement ? ) of all the daftness around her is a form of craziness in and of itself . Chris Tucker returns to the screen for the first time in five years and is a aspect - thief as Danny , Pat ’s friend from the institution who routinely fly the coop for a friendly sojourn . Julia Stiles cameo as Veronica , Tiffany ’s onetime baby who lives like she ’s QVC royalty - much to the chagrin of her married man Ronnie ( Public Enemies ' John Ortiz ) , Pat ’s p - whipped former friend who is quietly sitting on a vent of repressed emotion . Even minor characters like Pat ’s therapist Dr. Patel ( Anupam Kher ) , his successful brother Jake ( Boardwalk Empire ’s Shea Whigham ) and probation officer Keogh ( Dash Mihok ) are given moments to show off their own colorful personality while garner a few laughs .
On a more insidious level , Silver Linings Playbookgets inside the skin of blue - collar living in the same wayThe Fighterdid . merchandise the New England setting of the latter film for the Philadelphia setting of this one , and you still get a sense of Russell ’s captivation with the earthly concern of working - class America and the people who inhabit it . It ’s not quite satire , not quite endorsement , but rather lie somewhere in between ; a good - humored morbid curiosity that harbor , but just as often mortifies . It is a equalizer that Russell seems to have mastered , and so far , it has result in rewarding movie experiences .
Robert De Niro in ‘Silver Linings Playbook’
The picture show begins to drag in the latter second human activity - and after taking such a leisurely pace to get where it ’s going , the climax feel a bit rushed and very cliched . Still , with these form of Russell films it is more about the pleasure of the journey than the satisfaction fo the destination , andSilver Linings Playbookpaves a highly entertaining route to recovery for its fictional character , which you will be glad you helped buy at .
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Silver LiningsPlaybookis now flourish to additional theater . It is Rated R for language and some sexual cognitive content / nudity
Robert De Niro in ‘Silver Linings Playbook’
Based on the novel by Matthew Quick , Silver Linings Playbook stars Bradley Cooper as Pat Solitano Jr. , a recently released psychiatrical patient struggling with bipolar upset and live on with his parent in rural Pennsylvania . compulsive to advance back his ex - wife , Pat teams up with Tiffany Maxwell to both rekindle his family relationship and help Tiffany gain a dance competition . Jennifer Lawrence star alongside Cooper as Tiffany , with Robert De Niro , Jacki Weaver , and Chris Tucker also wee up the cast .
Bradley Cooper, Chris Tucker and Jacki Weaver in ‘Silver Linings Playbook’
