A genre of its own | Aisling Murphy

A genre of its own

Aisling Murphy reviews Silver Linings Playbook.Silver Linings Playbook is a movie which, as lead Bradley Cooper put it, is “tough to put in a genre”. Packaged as an offbeat romantic comedy, this film is also a drama which packs a punch – but with a zany edge. David O. Russell’s film follows the struggles of a man with bipolar disorder as he tries to piece his life back together after a court-ordered stay in an institution. Tackling the tough issue of mental health while still attracting mainstream audiences, Silver Linings Playbook deserves all the accolades it has been receiving. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, and its nominations were relatively surprising given the trend the Oscars have been following for many years. Comedies rarely get a look in to the main awards of Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Picture, but the socially aware Playbook has defied the odds and was nominated for all three.My admiration of Jennifer Lawrence grows at every interview, acceptance speech and film I see her in, and her latest outing is no different. The scope of her acting talent has brought her from blockbuster action movies X-Men First Class and The Hunger Games to dramatic indie films like Winter’s Bone to the complicated figure of Tiffany in Silver Linings Playbook. She also manages to appear ‘normal’ and down-to-earth, which should make me hate her but she is just too nice to hate; I swear I’m not jealous of her life...Bradley Cooper shows that he is not just a handsome face and gives a brilliant performance as the protagonist threading the fine line between being violent and vulnerable. The scene in which he blows the lid and accidently hits his mother is, in particular, a hand-over-mouth few minutes, and this rare insight into a person dealing with a mental illness is refreshing from a high-profile Harvey Weinstein produced movie. The issue of mental illness is a personal one for Russell, who has discussed how his son (who has bipolar disorder) was the inspiration for this film in order to show his son that he was not alone in struggling with the effect mental illness has on his life.Another aspect of the film which has not been noted by many but which I found uplifting was the fact that it steered away from the typical “boy meets girl” formulaic romantic comedy plot in which the girl rejects the guy and only after he relentlessly pursues her does she give in. The roles are reversed to some extent in Silver Linings Playbook and Lawrence’s character, Tiffany, unabashedly goes after Pat (Cooper) despite the harsh rejection she receives at every turn.The stripped-back, relatively plain production of the film is in stark contrast to the blockbusters we have become used to seeing, especially when it comes to Oscar nominations (Les Miserables, Lincoln, Django Unchained and Life of Pi are four of the other films that enjoy Best Picture nominations and are lavishly presented with elaborate costumes and intricate staging). But most strikingly, Silver Linings Playbook presents a troubled character with mental issues has a chance of romance, happiness and normality – to use the title, even a person who loses control can have a ‘silver lining’. Take the time to watch this if you haven’t already; it’s a film worth your time.