David O. Russell's quirky and manic Silver Linings Playbook doesn't sound like the most logical pick to be the season's most crowd-pleasing hit, but with its heartwarming nature and cast of kooky characters it's destined to be a popular favorite. Winner of the audience award at Toronto, the film follows a number of emotionally damaged people trying to find some way to make it in a world that's far crazier than they are. With the help of a little NFL football, some therapy, and a whole lot of ballroom dancing, they just might be able to find that titular silver lining.
If Bradley Cooper has been steadily evolving over the last couple of years, the transformation into fully realized leading man is now complete. As recently-released mental patient Pat Solitano, Cooper gives what may be his best performance yet in a role that easily could have slipped into caricature if misplayed. Locked away for eight months after a bloody and violent confrontation with the man his wife was having an affair with, Pat is released into the custody of his concerned mother(Jacki Weaver) and obsessive compulsive father(Robert De Niro), an obsessive-compulsive Philadelphia Eagles fan. An undiagnosed bipolar with severe mood swings, Pat has a problem controlling his aggression, which comes out in ways that are often comical, but just as often frightening. After spending an entire night reading Hemingway's Farewell to Arms, he blows up at the conclusion and can barely control his rage. He also lacks that all-important filter between his brain and his mouth, making him a social nightmare.
But Pat has a plan to get his life back. Equipped with the catchphrase "Excelsior"(did Stan Lee co-write this?), he has a narrow-minded focus of getting back with his wife and picking up where he left off. So what if she's moved away and has a restraining order on him? Life has a funny way of grinding a boot heel into our best laid plans, and Pat's are turned upside down the moment he meets Tiffany(Jennifer Lawrence), a troubled widow who lacks that same mental filter. Unlike Pat, she seems totally comfortable within her own skin, and it's that difference that sets the two apart despite similar afflictions.
Russell has become something of a master at finding the touching, sentimental moments within a whirlwind of craziness. I Heart Huckabees and Flirting with Disaster are two prime examples, and there are touches of both to be found here. Russell never shies away from the ugly things, and in being so upfront with the full extent of Pat's issues, it makes for a more sympathetic character and one we're willing to go on this wild journey with. Balancing the heavy drama with humor in equal measure, you're likely to find yourself crying one minute and then laughing at some abrasive remark the next. While Pat and Tiffany's problems are often the source of comedy, Russell doesn't turn them into a joke.
Cooper will likely receive the bulk of the attention, but it's Lawrence who is truly the glue that holds things together. She's never been more beautiful, vulnerable, or passionate as this, and her career-best turn is made all the better by her surprising comedic timing. We've never seen her go for humor in this way before, and she provides many of the film's biggest laughs as Tiffany tries (and often fails) to keep her emotions in check while also dealing with Pat's selfish and destructive tendencies. A true actor's director, Russell gets winning performances from the entire supporting cast. De Niro shows he's still got some juice as the father whose own struggles with OCD undoubtedly influenced Pat's issues. In his first role in five years, Chris Tucker shows flashes of his old self, but more subdued than we're used to.
Adapted from Matthew Quick's novel, the story goes in an unexpected and slightly formulaic direction with the introduction of a dance competition that puts Pat and Tiffany in close "Dirty Dancing" proximity. It plays a little too much like a sitcom and doesn't quite fit the tone of the rest of the film, but by then we're so in love with these people that we'll follow them anywhere and have fun doing it. Like many of Russell's films, it isn't necessarily trying to break new ground, just do it in a fresh and unexpected way.
Much like its principle characters, Silver Linings Playbook is a little dysfunctional and rough around the edges, but it's also a deeply effecting charmer that is sure to nab Lawrence, Cooper, and Russell a lot of awards attention.
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