There is a rich
tradition of indie films set in midtown America that have the central message
of ‘the suburbs make you crazy’. In the
last month I have seen: Revolutionary
Road, Garden State, Evolution and The Birds – all drastically different but all rely on a series of
musings about the absurdity and claustrophobia of suburban, middle-class
America.
The central premise of Silver Linings Playbook is that there
are a number of ‘crazy’ characters that tell more truths than the ‘sane’ people
that surround them – a typical indie-film love story. Pat (Bradley Cooper) has just been released
from Baltimore psychiatric institution back into the neighbourhood with his
parents (Jacki Weaver and Robert de Niro).
He is trying to rekindle his failed marriage with his wife who cheated
on him when he gets introduced to Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who has recently
lost her police officer husband and also never hesitates to speak her
mind. The film follows the classic
late-September / Halloween / Christmas trajectory in order to provide a happy
ending where characters have overcome a number of obstacles to coincide with
New Year – but even though the conventions are all firmly set in place the
script is much better than the average romantic comedy.
One thing to notice
about the film is that the houses and locations are stunning, yet there is an
interesting reference to the economic downturn.
Pat’s friend Ronnie is making money off of real estate, where Pat and
Tiffany are living with their parents.
Granted they are both in the middle of personal crises’, yet this could
be a tradition in years to come in Hollywood films reflecting the reality of
young adults living with their parents instead of in unrealistic loft
conversions.
Another moment that
sneaks out of the rom-com narrative is when Pat and his brother go to a
football game and end up defending some Indian football fans from some racists
in the parking lot. The scene
immediately before this celebrates everything that is American about a day at
an NFL game: Barbecue and beers on the
back of a truck before the game. The
scene is shot in loving slow motion where people are cheering the American
Dream, until the racism arrives and the patriotic scene is brought back down
again.
The film managed to
secure nominations in all four acting categories at the Academy Awards and I
must say they are all deserved. My
favourite though is the subtlest – Jacki Weaver as Pat’s mother Dolores. I wont ruin the scene, but the moments near
the end when she is watching her son with pride are truly heartwarming and give
her performance a richness that leads you right back to the beginning when you
first meet her. To be fair though, all four main characters each have excellent dialogue and moments of brilliance.
The only sore point for
me was the typical reliance on ‘alternative’ music-for-the-indie-film soundtrack. The bi-polar dance scene was a nice touch but
the Johnny Cash montage scene…I just don't know anymore
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