Silver Linings Playbook Reviews

"It means you know what I'm going to do, I'm gonna take all of this negativity and use it as fuel and I'm gonna find a silver lining, that's what I'm gonna do. And that's no bullshit. That's no bullshit. It takes work and that's the truth"

Although not perfect, Silver Linings Playbook has to be one of the best films of the 2010s. An eye-opening interpretation of mental illness and its stigma within todays society, SLP presented audiences with a story that held attention past the credits. With a realistic basis of a storyline, David O. Russell wove together a beautiful web of comedy and drama with a dazzling cast and heartfelt narrative. Russell's adaption of Matthew Quick's novel brought justice to this jaw-dropping story. 

i saw this movie thinking that it would be boring based on the title (my prejudice), but it was a really good movie i wouldn't call it oscar worthy (sorry jennifer), it was crazy, a new and exciting concept of a movie, its originality is brilliant, the acting is brilliant, ive seen this movie twice already, id put this in the emotional/comical/journey to finding ones self drama

7/10

Life is not fair, it never was and never will be, so what should we do about that? Should we be cry babies or should we get along with our lives without letting any single opportune moment to pass, because every life how pathetic it may be has a moment to excel - the silver lining.

Silver linings Playbook, directed by David O Russel of The Three Kings and The Fighter fame is a noteworthy effort with a simple yet powerful script and a very impressive cast. The narrative is so nicely paced that it peaks on its own and excels beautifully.

The cast is adorable. While Bradley cooper impresses, Jennifer Lowrence steals the show and watching Robert De Niro in a decent role ( after so long) is a real treat.

All in all Silver Linings Playbook is an impressive piece of cinema which is crazy yet so meaningful. It really made my night. Definitely a big thumbs up.

Such a darkly humorous film. I really enjoyed both leads performances, especially Bradley Cooper. He really went all out for this one! Made me completely forgive him for doing those terrible Hangover movies! I liked Jennifer as well, though feel she was a little over the top at times and am still surprised she won an Oscar for that performance. I feel like the academy votes for whoever is the loudest and most modern character.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Silver Linings Playbook rounded out my trio of rentals this week because there aren't yet any films from this year that I thought would be good enough to offset Die Hard 5 and Gangster Squad. And it turns out I made a very good choice indeed! :D I loved it!
I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking mental illness is a very delicate subject, but I don't think any movie should be interpreted as a parable. I think of this more as a character study of two people helping each other to stand on their own two feet again. (I have heard from Film Brain, though – whom you can usually trust considering how meticulously he researches these things – that it's a pretty realistic depiction of mental illness.)
It's also astonishingly well acted across the board – including, surprisingly, Chris Tucker! :)
I was thoroughly enjoying the movie… up until near the end, when the DVD started skipping to the point where I couldn't watch any more! :( Imagine my frustration! You know, that really pisses me off! Why can't people take good care of DVDs they rent? They're supposed to be public property! Letting a disc get scratched up is downright insensitive to anyone else who wants to rent it! So my final comment is a resounding "fuck you" to whomever let the DVD end up in that state!
But even though I haven't yet seen the ending, I think I can quite safely say that, had I caught this during 2012 itself, it would definitely have been on my favourite movies of the year list – top three easily.

My rating: 90%

So far, it is the best movie I have seen which was released in 2012. I know, many of you will probably be surprised that I give it so much praise, especially considering the fact that I'm not really generous with my ratings nowadays but this movie was just really amazing. I even shed a few tears, something that never happened to me before. First of all, after 20 years of mindless garbage, the great Robert De Niro was finally showing up in a good movie giving a great performance like in the good old days. Secondly, the characters and the whole story really touched me personally as I was reminded of how I met my wife and why we ended up together in the first place. As soon as the DVD is out, I will buy the damned thing and watch it with her. Finally, it was just a terrific movie with some real characters, with some real issues, dealing with their emotions and making me laugh and cry. I was also impressed by Bradley Cooper. Man, this guy seems to be the real deal. Indeed, only a few years back, he got his breakthrough with 'The Hangover' as a supposedly funny guy, then he became quickly another pretty face but, now, he is profiling himself as a genuinely talented dramatic actor. Concerning Jennifer Lawrence who just recently won the Academy award for this performance, I'm not so sure. The point is that it is only the 2nd movie starring her that I have seen so far (the other one being 'X-Men: First Class') and, in my opinion, she was actually too young for this part but she was solid so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt for now. Anyway, to conclude, I just loved this flick, it is an awesome drama, a great romantic-comedy and you should definitely check it out.

"Nikki's waiting for me to get in shape and get my life back together. Then we're going to be together."

Although it's a tad overrated in some circles, Silver Linings Playbook is a fine piece of filmmaking engineered by acclaimed director David O. Russell, whose 2010 feature The Fighter earned him a few Oscars and a truckload of box office dollars. Here, Russell fundamentally melds the screwball comedy of I Heart Huckabees with the dramatics and the uplifting disposition of The Fighter, and it's a concoction that works. Written by Russell himself, Silver Linings Playbook is an adaptation of Matthew Quick's novel of the same name. It's a story which deals with the delicate subject of mental illness in a respectful fashion, and it manages to alternate between poignant and light-hearted with a sure hand. Best of all, it's not a pretentious art-house production but rather an accessible motion picture with heart and laughs.

Philly native Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) has lost everything. After spending eight months in a psychiatric facility with acute bipolar issues, Pat returns to his parents Delores (Jacki Weaver) and Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro). However, his wife Nikki (Brea Bee) has a restraining order against him, he cannot return to his job, and he no longer owns his own house. Pat's sole focus is on reuniting with Nikki, hence he sets out to rehabilitate himself and get himself fitter in order to convince his estranged wife to lift the restraining order. At a dinner with friends, Pat is introduced to Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a young widow with issues of her own who's having a tough time letting go. The two semi-outcasts soon begin to bond, with Tiffany simply wanting a friend and Pat hoping to use her family connections to get in touch with Nikki. Soon, Pat finds himself entering a dance competition with Tiffany in exchange for her agreement to pass a letter onto Nikki on Pat's behalf.

The only flaws of Silver Linings Playbook are script-related. Take away the offbeat predilections of the central characters, and the result is a pretty generic romance flick, with the proverbial meet-cutes, falling outs, misunderstandings and make-ups that we see all the time. Moreover, the film does feel its two-hour running time, with a few patches of rocky pacing and an awkward sequence in the third act when the Philadelphia Eagles unnecessarily become a focal point. The Eagles stuff does underscore Pat Sr.'s OCD disorder, but it has too much of a presence in this story ostensibly about Pat and Tiffany, taking away focus from what matters the most. Shortcomings aside, Silver Linings Playbook is a marvellous motion picture, and the formulaic nature of the romance actually translates into an engaging viewing experience with a few interesting twists on the proverbial clichés. Best of all, Russell manages to negotiate the film through its tonal shifts, switching between comedy and drama without making the enterprise feel as bipolar as its protagonist. And the film does not feel schmaltzy or manipulative; it earns its emotion.

Not since Reds back in the early 1990s has a motion picture earned Oscar nominations in all acting categories. Cooper, Lawrence, De Niro and Weaver were all nominated for Oscars, and it's easy to see why. Cooper, who has recently become a big star, too often exudes an aura of smarminess that harms his charisma, but he's truly transformed himself here. He's such a nuanced and likeable presence, dialling down his regular tendencies to the extent that it's like watching a different actor to the one who starred in Wedding Crashers and The Hangover. Meanwhile, coming off her huge success as the lead in The Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence delivers her most adult performance to date here, proving she can handle more than just effortless teen roles. She's beautiful and charming, and it's easy to like her despite her darker side. Lawrence picked up an Oscar for her work here, and deservedly so.

Silver Linings Playbook also welcomes De Niro back into the land of the living; the actor is back in fine form after sleepwalking through almost every film of his for over a decade. He expands his dynamic range, convincingly playing Pat Sr. and pulling off obsessive-compulsive disorder in a remarkable fashion. Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) is every bit as impressive as her co-stars, playing Pat's mother in a loving, believable fashion. But the accolades don't stop here; Bollywood star Anupam Kher is terrifically engaging as Pat's psychiatrist, while John Ortiz does great work playing one of Pat's best friends. Also of note is Chris Tucker in his first film appearance outside of the Rush Hour franchise in fifteen years. Tucker is astonishingly great in the role of Danny, a fellow mental institution patient who developed a friendship with Pat.

Mental illness is a sensitive topic for a motion picture, especially a comedy. In the wrong hands, such a movie would result in a disrespectful, moronic and overdone depiction of mental disorders. Fortunately, Russell handles the subject in a masterful fashion, and the result is a well-made, crowd-pleasing dramedy spotlighting superb performances and an adept mix of pathos and humour.

8.1/10

When it first started, I was more than a little worried that Silver Linings Playbook would be a movie which made mental illness seems quirky and funny, and not the debilitating and often harrowing experience it actually can be. But the atomic bomb which annihilated all doubts I had about the movie came in the form of Jennifer Lawrence.

Well, maybe not any and all doubts, I still take issue with the movie industries insistence on creating “fixable” and attractive hysterics. Real life mental illness is a lifelong struggle that one does not magically overcome by falling in love with another mentally ill person. But no matter, there’s enough in Silver Linings Playbook to feel that a happy ending for these character may be deserved, after all, they do suffer quite a bit throughout.

Pat (Bradley Cooper) is fresh out of a stay in a mental institution, he moves back in with his parents (Jacki Weaver and Robert De Niro), and falls in love with troubled Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). Much of the film plays out in conventional rom-com fashion, with the mental illness sprinkled on top as a quirk, but the uglier scenes are the ones that resonate. Their love story is pleasing and all, but I found myself more interested in the film when Pat was saying things about how he hated his illness and wanted to control. These tiny glimpses into the actual troubled minds at work are worth sticking through the plot contrivances.

I said that the movie didn’t really ignite for me until Jennifer Lawrence came into it, and that is very much true. Her portrayal of Tiffany is all fractured nerves, neediness and compulsions to both connect with someone and destroy that relationship. She allows for Bradley Cooper’s character to finally emerge from kooky-movie-headcase into (mostly) fully rendered human being. Scenes of these two comparing mood stabilizing drugs or arguing over which is crazier ring with an authenticity missing from much of the rest of the film. And their performances are dynamite, Lawrence isn’t surprising given the depths she was able to plunder in Winter’s Bone, but Cooper is practically a revelation here. Never once resting on his charm and good looks, instead showing us that he’s unafraid to appear ugly, desperate or broken, Cooper delivers a performance which hopefully shows that he’s ready to move away from Hangover sequels and into more serious dramatic parts.

Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver turn in quiet and effecting work as Pat’s parents. Weaver’s role is the least showy, and yet she’s always stellar, turning on a dime between concern and understanding. She wants her son to get help, and is supportive and calm, even when her emotions are running high, but also knows that her husband isn’t exactly the picture of mental health. De Niro’s sensitivity is a welcome reminder of the greatness he could so easily achieve in the earlier part of his career. His obsessive compulsive behavior is authentic to anyone who has witnessed a sports fanatic at work trying to summon the gods of fate and chance to be on their team’s side.

The problems come in the plot machinery loudly running in the background. Somehow a bet placed on both a football and a dance contest coming up in their favor is supposed to help alleviate and fix the mental issues of the father and son. And the less said about Chris Tucker’s utterly useless character, who gets dropped in from time to time to remind us that mental illness can be kooky and fun, the better for it we’ll all be. The romantic angle plays out exactly as it would if this were a film starring Jennifer Aniston, Meg Ryan, Sandra Bullock or Reese Witherspoon. This balmy, soothing touch actually hurts the film overall.

While the performers are giving it their all, and delivering some laudable work, the script lets them down. But every so often it’ll whip up a real scene which details the struggle and ugliness of a life lived with instability and emotional spillover. Silver Linings Playbook could have ditched the quirk and been a story we could have invested in more. I never once hated the film, though I did feel a little uncomfortable during the first few minutes, but I found myself more entertained by the ephemerality in the script and the greatness of the performances. There’s a good foundation here, but not enough work went in to building something more true and original.

Before seeing it, Silver Linings Playbook has the approach, like your traditional romantic comedy, where it is colourfully filmed and looks to contain a high level of predictability within the plot, mediocre performances from the actors and has nothing to show for it. However, it does not contain elements that forcefully add gross-out gags and sexual references. Based on the debut novel by Matthew Quick, Silver Linings Playbook is a romantic-drama that does have its elements of dark humour but more importantly, it demonstrates psychological issues within human beings in general. Supported by the sublime direction and script from David O. Russell as well as breath-taking performances from its ensemble cast, Silver Linings Playbook is a dark but at the same time, light-hearted and hilarious film.


After providing us with The Fighter in 2010, David O. Russell displays human drama, particularly the psychological bi-polar disorder, in another form of genre and expresses it through the emotional and most tender themes – love and friendship. In addition, Silver Linings Playbook determines a lot about fate, particularly through the relationship between Pat (Bradley Cooper) and Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) and their emotional connection. In that sense, we get thought-provoking messages about the human mind. It has so much depth, mentally, but the added humour within the film really comes into play. As opposed to intentionally making us laugh out loud like in most comedies, Russell adds the laughter in certain situations (mostly in ones that spark awareness of bi-polar) where the audience occasionally feel bad for laughing. Nevertheless, in almost every aspect, Silver Linings Playbook becomes another fine achievement from David O. Russell.


Despite Russell’s direction and screenwriting skills are sublime in Silver Linings Playbook, the film’s strongest field is undoubtedly the acting from its ensemble cast. Each of the characters, particularly the four central ones, illustrates some kind of mental conditions. First, there is Bradley Cooper who literally gives us his breakthrough performance as Pat and becomes an entirely different actor compared to his past roles in comedies. His role in Silver Linings Playbook does contain the odd moments of humour that he is known for but more importantly, he fills the mental instability of a troubled man looking to change, become a stronger person and try to get his wife back. Similar to fellow Oscar nominee Hugh Jackman, Bradley Cooper cracks out of his shell and goes to new depths as an actor following his performance.


Alongside Bradley Cooper leading the film is Jennifer Lawrence, a young actress at the prime of her career. Most recently recognising her as the innocent girl turned hero from The Hunger Games, Lawrence becomes a woman in her role as Tiffany in Silver Linings Playbook. Tiffany is also troubled who is a widow and has a sexual reputation. Lawrence goes into this character with such strong force where she fits in every physical and emotional feature. She’s incredibly attractive, she’s a rebellious youngster and she has a strong heart. Meanwhile Robert De Niro, without a doubt the most sophisticated actor in the film, delivers without a doubt one of his strongest performances in a long time as Pat Sr. We see signs of psychological disorder in Pat Sr. too and knowing that De Niro has portrayed similar characters throughout his career, nobody could have pulled it off better. Finally, Jacki Weaver is the innocent one in the center of it all as Pat Sr’s wife and Pat Jr’s mother Dolores who also delivers a superb performance.


In many ways, Silver Linings Playbook has many concepts of human drama and comedy that we saw in Little Miss Sunshine in 2006 where it goes into the mindset of each character and gives the audience an outcome full of emotions. It is not a psychological drama. It is simply a drama that deals with psychology in other forms of romance and comedy. Silver Linings Playbook amazingly crafts the romantic sequences at a dramatic and humorous level without it being corny or clichéd. It’s emotionally engaging and progressively leads to teach the audience a few lessons about human psychology. Thus, Silver Linings Playbook is another incredible film from David O. Russell and is undoubtedly the best film of 2012 in terms of ensemble cast performances.

There are some movies that stick with you even after the credits have run and you've headed back to your everyday life. You'll suddenly find yourself thinking of it on your drive to work or while you make dinner. This movie is like that for me. At first I just loved it. It's a beautiful love story about two broken people who find away to heal through each other. Cooper and Lawrence are perfection both as individuals and as a couple. There are laughs and tears and when it's over you feel like it's time to go out and find the silver lining in your own life.

But now, after the warmth of the ending has faded I find myself dwelling on the sadder parts. The pain of dealing with undiagnosed mental disabilities and I realize that a more relevant movie couldn't be made. After all the violence in America of late alot has been said about people with bipolar disorder. This movie shows that while a bi polar person can be dangerous, with the right mindset and the right meds they can be a healthy member of society. It's not the disease that's the problem. It's our inability to diagnose and deal with these problems before they boil over into dangerous actions.