MOVIE REVIEW - Silver Linings Playbook

I always like going to movies and see a story that you really have not seen before.  And that is exactly what the new Bradley Cooper movie is.  A previously untold story at the movies.

Silver Linings Playbook stars Cooper as a young man named Pat.   Pat lives in Philadelphia and has just been released from a mental hospital in Baltimore.   He has been trusted to the care of his parents.   Pat has been living his whole life with an undiagnosed case of Bi-Polar disorder that finally overcame him when he found his young wife in the shower in their home with a co-worker.   Pat went off and assaulted the man, and ended up in the mental hospital as a result of his actions.

Clearly, Pat has real problems.   He has no filter between his brain and his words.  He basically offends everyone with everything he says.   He is reluctant to take his medications, and is staggering through his young adult life.  He is unable to cope with any real conflict, and becomes his own worst enemy time after time.   But he is incredibly intelligent, and has a plan for his life.  As ill-advised as it may be.

Pat then meets Tiffany  (Jennifer Lawrence).  She is a young woman mourning the recent loss of her husband who was killed.  She too has many mental issues to deal with, but when she and Pat meet there is some kind of strange chemistry.  Although Pat is set on getting his wife back, he is torn about Tiffany.   Tiffany is a creative type, who makes a deal with Pat to be the go-between with Pat, to his ex-wife.  Pat has to enter a dance competition with her, in exchange for her help.   Sound confusing?  It's not, but there are a ton of side plots with SLP.

This is part tragedy, part romantic comedy, and part drama.   But mostly what this is, is good.  Cooper is sensational as the terribly conflicted Pat.  Cooper continues to branch out and do different roles, and is quickly becoming Hollywood's most promising young male star.   But this movie does not work without Lawrence.  This entire project is about very mentally unstable people, with all of their baggage and quirks trying to fit in in the real world.   The casting of the incredibly quirky Tiffany was crucial, and she is perfect.

Lawrence here is the amazing combination of strange beauty, off beat presence, and a deeply troubled young woman with a story to tell.   Cast the wrong Tiffany, and this falls flat. She is the gasoline in the engine of this movie, and every scene she is in makes this a better movie.   She is likable, vulnerable, all the while being believable and looking like someone you would know.    

There is also a wonderful supporting cast led by Robert Dinero as Pat's OCD father, and Chris Tucker as one of Pat's friends from the mental hospital.  Both are great, as is the rest of the cast.  There's a lot of good in this movie, and it so far has skated a bit below the radar.  This is very intense at times, and very funny at times.  This is a very well written project that gladly takes you through a ton of emotions, and really makes you feel as you attempt to walk in our characters shoes.   That is this movies beauty.  You can't help but try hard to understand characters most of us can not possibly comprehend.

Silver Linings Playbook.  Very well done.  A must see.