By MacKenzie Linehan
Staff Writer
With the Oscars quickly approaching, moviegoers are anxiously waiting to find out which film will take home the highest cinematic honor. “Silver Linings Playbook” is one that stands out, and I believe that it has a great chance of winning the golden statue at this year’s Academy Awards.
The 2012 movie, from writer and producer David O. Russell, is based on the 2008 novel by Matthew Quick. The film, in my eyes, was simply impressive. It was a heavy plot because it includes intense topics, but it was done so beautifully that it seemed very fluent.
The lead character, former teacher Pat Solitano, played by the talented Bradley Cooper (“The Hangover”), is a man who should be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He suffers from a violent attack and the incident causes him to be put in a psychiatric hospital for eight months.
The film begins with his release from the hospital, and shows how one of the first things he does is try to make an effort to reunite with his cheating ex-wife, played by Brea Bee (“The Destruction Room”). In addition to losing his job and his house, his wife evidently doesn’t want to get back with him.
While he is determined to gain everything back, he soon realizes it doesn’t come as easily as he wants it to. He moves back home with his mother (Jacki Weaver, “The Five-Year Engagement”) and father (Robert De Niro, “Meet the Parents”).
While they both want him to get back on his feet more than anything, his parents also want him to become as dedicated to the Philadelphia Eagles as they are. This seemed weird to me, because it was such an unusual obsession. But it does show where Solitano gets a little bit of his crazy from.
Just when you think that no one can be as dysfunctional as Solitano, he meets Tiffany Maxwell, played by (Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games”). Her character is a young, attractive, depressed widow who tries to ease the pain of her loss with medication and promiscuity.
Maxwell offers to help Solitano reconnect with his wife, but only if he does something in return that is important for her. As they become immersed in their deal, they develop a beautifully unbreakable bond. From the darkness, together they find exactly what they needed: their silver lining.
The movie tied together nicely, and left audiences thinking after they left theaters. The characters were indeed dysfunctional in many ways, with a widow lacking morals and a lost, potentially bipolar male coming together. But I found my heartstrings being tugged multiple times and relating to the chaos that ensued throughout.
The movie demonstrated that indeed everyone has difficulties in their lives, and there is nothing wrong with that. Not only did the movie have an interesting plot, but also a fantastic cast. There was such an amazing connection between De Niro, Weaver, Cooper and Lawrence that at some points I was speechless watching the film unfold itself effortlessly. The way they interacted onscreen made it seem like it was reality and not just a movie. Lawrence also broke out of her shell for this film, proving to everyone she is more than just Katniss Everdeen.
All in all it was a must-see, and I’m crossing my fingers for it to win the Oscar.
