I ticked three movies off my list during carnival. Said I was going to try to make up for lost time and that’s what I did! Today I’m talking about the delightful Silver Linings Playbook. Think of a delicious pastime. The kind of movie that can’t go wrong. It’s touching, fun, entertaining…
It’s the story of a History teacher who, after being cheated on by his wife (and thus having a breakdown), is put in a mental institution. He stays there for eight months until his mother decides to bring him back to real life. A life he wishes to resume.
It’s a cute, yet totally predictable story. By the beginning you can already guess the end. And that’s fine! Because there are many other surprises that make us flow with the story.
I’ll start with Bradley Cooper. From The Hangover, you know? I always knew he was hot. But he never grabbed my attention as an expectator. So this was the time for that! I really enjoyed his work here…
Another babe whose work I love (I was a fan before this movie!) is Jennifer Lawrence (from Hunger Games and Winter’s Bone). She’s great in the role of the girl/woman who knows her life is all f*cked up and yet she’s o.k. with that. She’s strong, deep into it. The couple has a pretty nice involvement as well. Ups and downs of two disturbed minds that run into each other and start getting along. Very cute.
The entire cast is very good. All of them. No exceptions. And I think this is very much due to the director, David O. Russell, who excels at directing actors. Remember Christian Bale’s (forever Batman!) fantastic performance at The Fighter? So incredible that we won the Oscars for best actor in a supporting role. He was directed by David O. Russell. Btw, that’s another film in which the actors dive in real deep. Viscerally realistic. I love it!
Now the icing on the cake was Robert De Niro. I’d read in a few blogs I follow that this time he was there in all of his glory. So my expectations were high. And, indeed, he nailed it. We missed a Godfather-like De Niro, right? Seeing the master at his best. Not that I’m comparing the two films, which wouldn’t even make sense. It’s just what I said above, about visceral realism, diving deep into the role and all that. Astounding. So good to watch.
Have you seen it? What did you think?
If you haven’t, rush to the movies, since the Oscars are right around the corner and this film has eight nominations.
