What drew me initially to this movie was that it had a different approach to two topics that have almost been sucked dry by Hollywood.
The first is the classic lovestory. One has seen it in all variations and what most have in common is that despite the obvious the leads are kind of a catch. This is where Silver Linings Playbook is different. the leads are basically broken people one would consider "undateable".
Second and more important in my point of view is the issue of mental health problems. While most movies or tv shows only deal with extreme cases e.g. psychotic killers or comically distorted versions of people suffering from OCD, this movie in my opinion shows the real deal. What happens when people are released from the mental health facilities and try to adjust to normal life. How they deal with an illness they have to accept as part of their life as other people have to accept diabetes.
Silver Linings Playbook deals with this in a sensitve yet entertaining way. Pat, the lead character, is never ridiculed, on the contrary, the movie shows how he fights bravely to get his life back on track despite the ocasional set back.
Bradley Cooper's protayal is nuanced and engaging. In one simple phrase: He makes you care for Pat! I have seen some of his work before and while I considered him a decent actor until now, he literally blew me away in this movie.
Opposite of Bradley Cooper they casted Jennifer Lawrence, who is proving to be one of the most promising actresses despite being only 22 years old. While her introduction is rather slow and slightly tedious she manages to quickly give depth to her character. A lot of people have mentioned the age gap between the two leads, but to be honest I wouldn't have noticed had I not known the actors real life ages. Especially since Jennifer Lawrence interpretation is very mature her character seems much older.
Also the supporting cast is a sheer delight Robert de Niro in particular whose acting skills are well known and don't require further comment.
While the movie is smart entertaining, there are also some negative points in my opinion. The introduction is a little too slow for my taste so that in the end the pace quickens a little too much (Due to Hollywoods recent idea that movie shouldn't be much longer that 120 Minutes). But this seems more like a matter of personal taste.
All in all I really enjoyed this movie, it has some great acting, awesome writing and the right balance between entertainment and sophisticated art.
Points 8/10
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