Romantic comedies are easily one of the most difficult movies to execute in a manner that does not feel cloying or lacking in authenticity. In all honesty a lot of the issue with these films is in the characters, and in particular the couple that is inevitably expected to make the pairing of the film. Do the two individuals within the romance both possess a charm while still having enough complexity to not become dull? Will it seem like a complete lapse in logic that these two would ever find love in one another? And most of all, will it be meaningful to me as a viewer and most of all will I CARE if the two lead performers end up together before the credits roll?
David O. Russell's follow-up to "The Fighter", the oddly dubbed "Silver Linings Playbook" is a terrific romantic comedy. More impressive is the fact that it feels like a wholly original one as well, as romantic comedies are often the most derivative of all the genre films. Perhaps the most prominent detail of this film is that the two romantic leads in the film (Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence) both play flawed individuals who both are struggling to navigate deep-seated emotional issues within themselves. The entire time I was watching this film every interaction these two had with one another made me yearn to see them in an embrace by the conclusion of the film. The fact that they were both lacking in emotional maturity in some capacity didn't alienate me as a viewer at all; in fact it made both of them seem far more identifiable and made the entire relationship feel far more tangible and realistic than what is often found in films of this type.
The film itself is driven by Bradley Cooper's character, Pat, a man plagued by emotional pain after having beaten almost to death the man whom he caught his wife Nikki having an affair with. Pat moves in with his parents (Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver) and finds himself struggling to cope with his demons and finding little success. That is until he encounters Tiffany, a recovering sex addicted widow who has sass to spare. As Tiffany expresses a plan to Pat that he believes would win him back Nikki's affections, a romance begins to blossom between the two, as long as family, confusion, and their own neuroses does not doom the relationship before it begins.
I gotta hand it to Bradley Cooper; I have been waiting to see what all the fuss is about regarding to his acting and with this role he has proven himself capable to the task. Prior to this I felt the best performance I had seen him in was in the immensely dumb but highly entertaining "The A-Team", but Cooper here is able to play a man lacking the maturity he needs to make healthy decisions while still coming across as relatable. He doesn't play Pat's psychotic episodes as over-the-top or cartoonish, but in a manner that makes them seem eerily true-to-life. For a very funny picture, Cooper is able to nail the serious moments skillfully. While some of the other actors are getting larger praise than Cooper he should not be dismissed as his performance is the glue that holds the film together.
The two other actors worth singling out before I get to the one that everyone is deservedly raving about is Robert DeNiro and surprisingly Chris Tucker. Now some will argue the idea that DeNiro would be terrific is almost laughable to bring up; not so. DeNiro, as legendary and talented as he is, has not picked the best roles over the last 20 years of his career, and it was such a relief to see the DeNiro I know and love baring his soul in this film. The scene where he is brought to tears by his confession that he could have been a better , more understanding father to Pat almost made me well up, as it felt real and without a single false step. DeNiro shows more sensitivity in this role than he has had an opportunity to in a long time. It is truly a return to form for him and I hope it leads to similar roles for him once again. As for Tucker, who knew Tucker could ditch the high-falsetto comedy shtick and execute a serious role so convincingly? He is great as a friend of Cooper's from his hospital stay, and he manages to be funny without pulling from the usual gimmicks associated with his "act".
And that brings us to Jennifer Lawrence; I love this woman after seeing her in this film. Granted, I climbed aboard the Jennifer Lawrence Fan Club train a few years ago after she blew every other actress her age out of the water with her performance in "Winter's Bone", and continued my admiration for her diverse talent after impressive turns in "X-Men: First Class" and "The Hunger Games". But none of her admittedly strong past performances hold a candle to her bravura work here as Tiffany, the emotionally wrecked young woman whom Pat slowly realizes he is beginning to fall for. Tiffany is a volatile, quick-tempered young woman with baggage to spare as a result of her husband's death for whom she feels somewhat responsible for. On paper, she should not be the type of woman your typical viewer would immediately fall for in viewing this picture. However, that is the key to Lawrence's brilliance in the role; I loved Tiffany in this film from the moment she graced the screen, not just because Lawrence is very easy on the eyes (for the record: she most certainly is), but her ability to display a ferocity in the role while making it naturally apparent it is masking a truly wounded soul makes her very alluring. And the age difference between actress and role cannot be dismissed when discussing this performance. Bradley Cooper was 37 when filming this and Lawrence was 21, and as a result one would suspect the relationship in this film would be doomed to a creepy "trophy wife" vibe on behalf of Cooper's age. But where Lawrence steps up her game is in her ability to come off so convincingly as a strong young woman several years beyond her actual age, and most impressively, her relationship with Bradley Cooper's Pat is not only accepted by the viewer but fully desired and embraced. The chemistry between the two should not make sense in theory because of the age gap but I actually felt they displayed the type of connection onscreen several of the classic romantic pairings did, albeit with a script depicting far more broken and lost people.
In approaching the direction and structure of the film, I must admit I am doing so with a bit of embarrassment. When I heard David O. Russell was helming a new picture, I rolled my eyes and had an attitude of "oh geez, THAT guy again". Yet as I was watching "Silver Linings Playbook" and loving both the presentation and depth of it, I tried to remember why I was not particularly a fan of Russell's work, and in that moment I realized that I actually have enjoyed every film Russell has released thus far. I loved "The Fighter". I felt "Three Kings" was a movie that didn't get nearly as much acclaim as it deserved and I am very pleased to hear that it has attained higher stature in the passing years. I even thought the odd "I Heart Huckabees" was immensely entertaining. The only thing I can think may have deterred my opinion of his talent is the fact that several actors, especially George Clooney and Lily Tomlin, have expressed publicly that he is a nightmare to work with. With this film I have learned the error of my ways in subconsciously judging Russell's direction based on his quirks outside of the work, as the direction was very smart in this picture. I particularly liked the use of zoom in the picture to emphasize emotional intensity; it reminded me to some degree how Scorsese used jump cuts to emphasize emotional anguish in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore". Russell actually is utilizing the film medium to express emotional elements, which should be a primary objective for most directors but is utilized by very few. I also appreciate that Russell's color palette and film stock style has become very unique to Russell; you can't watch his films and not recognize the same author birthed each one. The script is fantastic, probably my favorite dialogue and story construction of the year behind "Django", and if I had to select my personal favorite for winner at the Oscars in the Adapted Screenplay category, this would be my peerless favorite.
Did I have any objections to the film? Precious few, but yes. As much praise as every actor has received for their contributions to this film (and make no mistake, there's not a weak actor in the bunch), I felt Jacki Weaver's role was pretty basic and not necessarily worthy of acclaim in the way the three lead actors have been praised. She is ridiculously talented as any lucky film nerd who saw her performance in "Animal Kingdom" can attest, but I feel it was more a role that was servicing the story and moving the other characters along rather than actually enhancing the film. And my biggest issue with the film (SPOILER ALERT) lies in the scene where Robert DeNiro asks his son to accompany his brother to a Philadelphia Eagles game rather than attend a crucial dance practice with Tiffany. I was slightly annoyed with the fact that such a major plot point in the film was predicated on a father wanting to change his emotionally fragile son's plans simply because he felt it would be "good luck" for the team he was betting on. Granted, there have been several movies where I have allowed similar leaps in logic to pass me by without incident, but that one for some reason just crawled under my skin for a moment and annoyed me. Thankfully the overwhelming quality of the rest of the script and my adoration for almost every character in the picture muted this minor objection.
There is a scene near the end of the movie where Pat in conversation with Tiffany states "The only way to beat my crazy was by doing something even crazier". "Silver Linings Playbook" is ultimately a film about two "crazy" people finding emotional peace and a love they were desperately searching for unexpectedly in one another. While the film seems like a somewhat quirky romance on the surface, the truth is most of us are either freaking nuts are at least feel as if we are at several moments in our lives. "Silver Linings" reveals that even the emotionally scarred are not only deserving of love, but that the process of watching that love unfold can be so satisfying.
Rating: 9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment