Perfect in its imperfection

Rating: 10/10 (7 June 2013)

This is the type of film that fantastically blends powerful literary themes with an entertaining premise in an innovative and enlightening way. A lesson: judge not--for we are all imperfect, damaged, and/or carry baggage, in one form or another. Part of being human is learning to accept our flaws, and those of others. The theme of forgiveness, and letting go of the past wrongs of others (whether they be familial, spousal, or otherwise), despite how these transgressions have affected you is mixed in there as well, as there is a certain freedom in purging this negative energy from one's psyche. This combined with another theme, perhaps articulated as 'don't be afraid of change', or 'get out of your comfort zone', make for an interesting dichotomy. The widely known 'Serenity Prayer' comes to mind when I think of these two somewhat conflicting ideas, in that there are some attributes that we may work on in order to improve ourselves, those close to us, and our respective relationships with the latter, yet some that should be accepted as part of who we, and they, essentially are.
Countless other thematic ideas will certainly come to the mind of a receiving viewer, one such being a powerfully resounding lesson in love. That is, it is not the amount of time a relationship lasts that determines its worth, but how deep it goes. But I digress, as you could spend the greater portion of a semester studying the various literary devices in a great film such as this. As a matter of fact, I think it would be a wonderful movie for a film class to get into, despite being surprisingly mainstream.
Depth is an attribute that extends to the characters as well. Developed in such an uncompromising, yet approachable way, they are lovable, yet different from what one may see of others on the surface because they are so 'real'. Many of them, like the protagonist, suffer from afflictions of the mind, accumulated over their years, and allowed to fester to a point of visibility. Although Bradley Cooper's character, Pat, is the only one to be institutionalized for his 'illness' (although we presume that Jennifer Lawrence's character has been at some point as well), they all have issues. Patrick's father suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder, and although his habits can get intense, and his thoughts quite outlandish, they are tolerated and catered to by the rest of his family because they love him. Patty's friend, after having a baby and overworking, seemingly suffers from an undiagnosed form of anxiety disorder, and relates to Pat because of this. Another friend, detained with Pat before his release and played by Chris Tucker, has an addictive personality and has struggled with illegal narcotics. Pat himself has bipolar disorder, which he only came to know due to an altercation with the man his wife was having an affair with. Most widely known mental illnesses are touched on in this film, and it is a beautiful perspective on how we categorize or value others, and how that might be flawed. Part of being human is accepting that we are not perfect. So, maybe we should stop trying to be? I loved it. 10/10.