What is Crazy?

Rating: 9/10 (18 March 2013)

What I loved about this movie, apart from everything, is that it keeps making me think. It makes me think most of all about what it actually means to be "crazy" and whether we all have our own mental health issues in some form and to some degree.
Even though the movie is focused on Bradley Cooper's character, Pat, I find myself thinking more and more that it is really about his father, Robert De Niro's Pat Senior, whose own mental health issues go a long way to explaining how Pat Junior has turned out. We are all influenced by our family, and particularly our parents, and poor Pat Junior has had a lot to deal with. Robert De Niro was terrific, and I'm not normally a fan. Shout out to Jacki Weaver, fellow Aussie, who was solid.
The dialogue in this movie has some cherry moments that are very funny. There is a lot of humour in this movie, but I would not call it a comedy. There is also a romantic situation, but you can't classify is as a romance nor a rom-com. This is a drama with the lot.
I liked JL and BC before this movie, but I love them both now. They were both illuminating.
I read a previous review that bagged the movie because it was nothing like the book. I understand that disappointment, but not having read the book, I love the movie and I also love the sound of the book as described in that review. They do not need to be the same.
The minor characters add a lot of depth, and in delightful, unexpected ways.
The scenery and overall look of the movie is not pretty or colourful, which puts a lot more pressure on the script, performances and storyline and they all rise to the task.
I am thrilled to find a modern movie that is not only enjoyable and entertaining, but thought-provoking and rewarding. I will watch it again and again.