A "feel-good movie" that earns its feelings

Rating: 9/10 (28 January 2013)

The romantic comedy has never been the most respected genre in film, but and I think in earnest that's because so many of them just go through the motions and don't let their characters earn the sympathy that the filmmakers expect the audience to feel for them.
Silver Linings Playbook is a rarity, an ostensibly "feel-good" movie that doesn't pull punches and isn't afraid to go dark places but ends up trusting in its characters and its audience enough to see it through to the end. Bradley Cooper is solid, Jennifer Lawrence continues to reveal herself as one of the best actresses of her generation; and how refreshing is it to see Robert De Niro finally finding himself in a good movie again after years of slumming? This is his best performance in years and I hope he continues choosing better projects in the near future.
David O. Russell got a bad stigma in Hollywood for a few years after I Heart Huckabees and the infamous meltdown video, but with this and The Fighter he has thankfully proved he still has the talent that made him such an interesting filmmaker early on in his career.
In a year full of great movies, this is one of the better ones, and one I'd like to revisit again. It's everything a great romantic comedy should be and I'm glad audiences are starting to connect with it.