Cooper & Lawrence are mere eye-candy no more in a heartfelt battle against love.

Rating: 8/10 (9 February 2013)

Silver Linings Playbook is in the enviable position of having been nominated for eight Oscars and it deserves every one of the nods. But that doesn't mean to say it will walk away with any statuettes. Just look back at the 1994 ceremony when The Shawshank Redemption walked away empty handed despite seven nominations. Shawshank was robbed but, unfortunately, Silver Linings Playbook is up against better films in every category. But there is hope; Academy has been known to occasionally get it wrong.
Though there are better films on release, Silver Lining Playbook is a very good film that owes much of its success to the very fine work from the cast, Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in particular. Both actors are known predominantly for light, entertaining films rather than gritty performances in films that count and remain in mind long after the event, but this will go a very long way to Hollywood viewing them as serious actors rather than mere eye candy. As for Robert De Niro, it's probably his best performance since Sleepers and almost erases the pain of Meet the Fockers. Almost.
Pat (Cooper) emerges after several months from a mental institution, where he has been treated for bipolar disorder, against the better judgment of the doctors and moves back with his parents (De Niro and Jacki Weaver). He attempts to rebuild his life and win back his estranged wife, despite her restraining order on him. Then Tiffany (Lawrence), a widow with her own substantial emotional issues, crashes into his life and an explosive friendship ensues.
Silver Linings Playbook isn't a traditional love story and there's no guarantee of a sweet beautiful ending, so if you're looking for a predictable, ordinary rom-com you're in the wrong screen. Go and see I Give it a Year and be damned. Here we have two broken people who cause others as much pain as they themselves are struggling to overcome.
For those who have no experience with bipolar disorder, Cooper gives an enlightening performance of a man who knows after the event that he has behaved irrationally, but at the time is incapable of preventing the monster inside from taking control. For those who have, it is a reminder that causes one's head to nod in acknowledgement. But Pat isn't just a disturbed character; Cooper plays him as a man with at odds with what seems obvious to him and the current of understanding that runs beneath the surface.
The performance Lawrence serves up as the angry, destructive Tiffany is like watching Katniss on heroin though a cracked spyglass. Buried deep inside her is a lost soul that needs care and unconditional love but she has developed her own detrimental methods of self-preservation. It is an eye-opening performance and has set a standard for Susanne Bier's Serena, in which Lawrence and Cooper will reunite later this year.
There are no great surprises or shocks with Silver Linings Playbook if you keep your wits about you, but it is a heartwarming film that further cements David O. Russell's status as a writer/director rushing up the A-list. Add it to the 'must see' list at number four or five.
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