After catching his wife with the school history teacher, Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper) loses it and beats him within an inch of his life. This action lands him in a mental hospital in Baltimore. The movie opens with Pat just getting out. Even though he’s essentially lost everything – wife, job, house, etc. – he’s intent on finding the silver lining in his life and doing whatever it takes to reunite with his wife. As he works to assimilate back into the real world, he’s relegated to living in his parent’s attic. His parents, wonderfully portrayed by the impeccable Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver, try to do what’s best for Pat, sometimes with disastrous results. De Niro and Weaver are far from elder statesmen playing bit parts though. They are the glue of the Solatano family and are treated as such. De Niro in particular, as Pat Sr., is a joy to watch on screen. He plays an OCD bookie who lives and breathes Philadelphia Eagles football.
While trying to help Pat get over his wife, one of his friends tries to set him up with his wife’s sister, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). She has a unique kinship with Pat. They’ve both lost their spouses; Pat because of the affair and Tiffany through an accident that made her a widow. The interactions between Pat and Tiffany really are the heart of the film. While I really enjoyed everything about the movie, seeing the chemistry between Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence and the performances they put forth had me thinking about Oscar. I don’t say this lightly. If Silver Linings Handbook doesn’t get any kind of award consideration, I don’t think I can take the Academy seriously ever again. Both actors were that good. It was a pure treat to watch their friendship grow and blossom. At first, Pat goes along with helping Tiffany because he thinks it will help him get back together with his wife, but that help (ballroom dancing) starts to become a critical plot point for the entire movie…even as it relates to Pat Sr. and his illegal sports book.
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in “Silver Linings Playbook.” © 2012 – The Weinstein Company.
As much as I appreciated the unfiltered character of Pat, Jennifer Lawrence really needs to be commended for her portrayal of Tiffany. She uses sex to cope with the loss of her husband and it isn’t until she meets Pat that she starts to cope with her loss appropriately. On the outside, Tiffany is a very tough and sarcastic character, but subtle hints of her true vulnerabilities really shine throughout the movie – especially when Pat says something that isn’t quite respectful.
Since I went into the movie with no preconceived notion, I purposely left out specific plot points. This movie focuses on life, love, loss, family, friendship, football, and ballroom dancing. It may sound a bit busy, but it works, and it works extremely well. David O. Russell follows up The Fighter with a movie that is a little more light-hearted, but just as powerful. He, along with the cast, really knocks Silver Linings Handbook out of the park. I don’t hand out perfect scores lightly, but this is the first movie of the year that has deserved it.
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