MYSTQ2: Post 2: Silver Linings Playbook

For this MYST post I decided to watch David O. Russell's recent film Silver Linings Playbook

The New York times says, "'Silver Linings Playbook,' the exuberant new movie from David O. Russell, does almost everything right. The story tracks the feverish, happy, sad, absurdly funny ups and downs of a head case named Pat Solatano, played by a surprisingly effective, intensely focused Bradley Cooper, just as he returns to his parents’ home after eight months in a mental institution. Pat had been put away for a scarily violent crime, but now, having shed fat and the defense it offered him, and feeding on the shiny philosophy of the title instead, he feels ready to tackle the world. The world may not be ready." -NY Times

When my mother first approached me asking to watch Silver Linings Playbook with her I wasn't too excited. On this particular Sunday night, or any night for that matter, I wasn't in the mood for a Love Actually, LifeTime Movie Network kind of movie; however, being a fan of Jennifer Lawrence, I reluctantly agreed to watch Silver Linings Playbook. 

The cinematography in this film really helps bring the characters' predicaments to life. For example, if we look at the scene in which Pat has a bipolar episode the juxtaposed high and low angle shots help convey the contrast of power and fear between the characters. Additionally when Pat starts to break down and the sound of a certain song the camera pans around him in a circle as if he is spinning out of control. Shots and scenes like these make the audience feel as if they have Pat's condition.

Overall this movie was beyond stellar. Lawrence and Cooper's performances as mentally unstable accidental lovers are superb. This combined with an original plot based on the novel makes Silver Linings Playbook enjoyable for a wide variety of audiences. It brings out the crazy in all of us and for that reason it give it a 9/10.